Reality's Fairytales
by Rosalite
Summary: What if our EAH & Winx cast existed in the present day? They're typical teens with an extraordinary secret. And the worst part? They have to HIDE it! That's a burden in itself in ADDITION to the struggles of high school, which can lead to anything BUT a happy ending. When friendships are tried, romances brewed, & hearts shattered, our heroines learn that real life is NO fairytale.
1. Raven, Roxy

**It's quiet.** _ **Too**_ **quiet. Winx Club Season 8 isn't premiering until next year, no one knows when the second season of World of Winx is going to be released, Ever After High is practically dead. Winx Club Season 7 was kinda bad and aired** _ **all the way back in 2015.**_ **Ever After High hasn't produced a true webisode since "A Big Bad Secret" back in October 2016. Some are saying Ever After High is being cancelled, and I'd totally believe it at this point. We're 1/3 into 2017 already and we haven't heard ANYTHING. Winx Club is even worse date-wise. Season 7 ended in late** _ **2015**_ **and we haven't had** _ **any**_ **news about season 8 (which I'm totally fine with since Winx Club sucks now but ANYHOO). As I said earlier, both franchises are being quiet. Thus, this story was born. Well, the remake.**

 **See, I originally planned to write this story AFTER my first WC/EAH story, but I had bored of that. I had most of the chapters mapped out since…late 2016-early 2017, and had actually been planning the story long before that. In fact, I started this story back in 2015, but I trashed it after seeing it was undeveloped. But this time I mapped out everything, and I think I'm ready for round two! At first, I wasn't gonna bother publishing this, but I think everyone needs a little enlightenment. Even me. I think I lost my own inspiration after Ever After High started to decline, that's why I was gonna scrap this. But after rewatching a few episodes, I HAD to do this. This story will serve as a reminder. A reminder that no matter how much empty time goes by, the fandoms will** _ **never**_ **die.**

 **And speaking of the story, it's inspired by Lisi Harrison's** _ **Monster High**_ **book series. Thus, it's supposed to be a real-world AU. Sort of. Well, you'll get the picture when you read further. Be sure to leave a review at the end! I always love feedback!**

 **Oh, yeah! Another thing: a lot of this fanfiction will have elements from the Winx Club comic book series, so a lot of you might not recognize a few characters. For an example, Manuel. Manuel's Roxy's love interest ONLY in the comics, NOT the actual cartoon.**

 **Boy, it's weird writing the Trix like this. I'm not used to writing them as anything other than super villains. But I** _ **do**_ **love portraying them as the Mean Girls. Mind you, this is something** _ **completely**_ **different, so give it a chance.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own EAH or WC or any of the characters mentioned in this chapter. Sorry if this chapter is bad. I'm not good with intros. Roxy's was boring to write, so it's probably boring.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Raven, Roxy**

Raven Queen felt screwed. No, Raven Queen _was_ screwed.

For nearly the past two hours, she'd been cramped in the back of the SUV in between her sisters' bags and luggage. Her legs had long gone to sleep and were stiff as heck, and she didn't even have enough room to stretch out her arms. So in other terms, Raven's day had been miserable so far. Miserable _and_ uncomfortable.

And with the SUV being trapped on the middle of a gridlock highway, Raven's predicament _obviously_ wasn't ending anytime soon.

"Stormy, you told me you'd switch with me an hour ago," complained Raven, taking her headphones off. She kicked the back of her sister's seat.

"Hey, it isn't my fault you were stupid enough to sit back there," retorted Stormy with a hiss, snapping her gum.

"Well, _somebody_ had to," countered Raven, folding her arms across her chest (it was a miracle she had enough room to do _that_ ).

"And that someone's you so just shut up already," groaned Darcy, letting her head fall back onto her headrest.

Icy, the oldest Queen sister who sat all the way in the front with their dad, just snorted. "Would _all_ of you shut up?" she said, inspecting her reflection in the passenger vanity mirror. Mirror gazing seemed to be Raven's sisters' favorite pastime, a hobby they all had inherited from their mom. "At this point, I'm _seriously_ thinking about freezing you all over." Raven could practically _hear_ Icy rolling her eyes.

"Not before I blow you away first," snapped Stormy, furiously snapping her gum again.

"Oh please, Stormy. I'd _hardly_ think your little autumn wind is strong enough to get rid of me," insisted Icy arrogantly, turning around in her seat to give Stormy a taunting smirk.

Stormy gritted her teeth, obviously insulted. "Why you…" she growled.

Oh boy. Raven groaned. Not this again. This would be the _fifth_ fight Stormy and Icy got into since they had started their trip. Raven didn't blame them for being frustrated and annoyed about being schedule, but that was no reason to fight. Raven was just as fed up at them yet she wasn't threatening to zap any of them into next Saturday.

But, unfortunately, that was the thing about witches. They were overly aggressively, especially with each other.

Yes, you heard right. _Witches._

Raven sighed, slipping her headphones back on. She turned her attention back to her iPod, setting her playlist on shuffle. She increased the volume by a few notches as her sisters' quarreling voices got louder. There was only so much arguing Raven's ears could take. During her sisters' constant verbal battles, Raven usually tuned them out by playing or listening to music. But since she was stuffed in between bags in the backseat of a SUV with her music equipment packed away in the back of a moving truck, Raven's only option was to blast music into her eardrums. Raven had learned a long time ago that listening to her sisters' disputes was useless. Thus, she usually got out of their way until the storm blew over (Stormy pun semi-intended).

It was times like this Raven was thankful their mother wasn't around. If _"the Evil Queen"_ (cue dramatic music) were there, Raven would've already had a headache throbbing like tecno. That was the thing about dark sorceresses. When they were displeased, they seemed to get loud. _Really_ loud.

Dark sorceresses? Witches? One would think Raven insane for describing her family that way, but that was what they were. See, Raven's family wasn't like most…

They were different. Like, _out-of-this-world_ different. Defying-the-laws-of-science different. Well, not _all_ of the laws of science. Just the ones "normal people" had come to accept. There were other aspects of the world they didn't know about. Like _magic_ , for instance.

No, Raven's family wasn't the kind that believed in the supernatural because they were the "illogical" or "naïve" type. It was because they _were_ the supernatural.

Simply put, magic _was_ real. Like, real-real. Magic was a fundamental part in the world's makeup and revolution. Magic was almost like an element—unseen yet essential. Magic was everywhere. In things, in places, in people.

It was a lot to explain. Not that Raven ever tried to. What would be the point in telling everyone she was the daughter of the Good King and Evil Queen? That would just sound preposterous. Unbelievable. _Insane._

That sounded like something you'd see on a TV show _Once Upon a Time._ As somewhat insulting that show was, it was crazy to know how _accurate_ it was to an _extent_.

See, it went something like this: fairytales were real. _Ish._ And not just fairy tales—magic in general. Spells, curses, wizards, fairies, realms, dimensions. All of it. A _long-long_ time ago, the fairytales you probably read as a child existed. They actually _happened_ in an ancient realm that existed in ancient times. This realm had been the very definition of mythical. Dragons had roamed the lands, mermaids resided in the seas, evil sorceresses casted curses, kings and queens ruled their kingdoms, unicorns and other fabled creatures had been common animals, dark beings waged war with their foes, fairies protected the lands and guided and watched over its citizens. But then something had gone wrong. _Horribly_ wrong.

The realm—it just started to _die._ Like someone had _poisoned_ it. _Cursed_ it. Thus, everything and everyone living in it began to suffer. This magical realm deteriorated so much, it became dangerous for any and all life to exist there. It literally became a wasteland. So much had perished, so much had been lost. But not _everything._ According to what Raven had been told, a highly powerful sorcerer had taken an extreme risk to ensure the magical realm's legacy would forge onward even if the realm itself was destroyed and beyond repair.

But at that point, more than _half_ of the realm's inhabitants were dead. Majority of the survivors had been the legendary fairytale figures, the ones with _special_ magic. Thus, the powerful sorcerer used the rest of his own magic to find these figures and seal them and their stories into magical pages. These pages were encrypted with a rare magic that could penetrate the dying realm's curse. As a result, the sorcerer sent these pages into a different realm—the one that was now referred to as "the real world". His objective had been for their void world to exist in a new one through the stories written on each page. Like some kind of historical document or memorial.

And as he intended, these pages were found and the tales written on them were spread all over the new world as folklore and fairytales over the course of history. Unfortunately, the humans only read and perceived these stories as nothing more than fiction. Make-believe. So instead of embracing, accepting, treasuring, and honoring the fairytales as a testimony of the fallen mythical realm, the humans shunned and laughed at the idea, deeming them nothing more than entertaining myths. Fantasies instead of realities.

But apart from the fairytales, back when the fantasy world first declined, other civilians had managed to escape into the real world on their own. Knowing they could never go back to their magical realm, the refugees had no choice but to learn to live with the humans in their world. That was a disaster in itself. The humans hadn't liked the idea of living beside beings with supernatural powers—it made them feel inferior. That being said, they began to get rid of them. Witches were trialed and burned during the Salem Witch Trials. Fairies shared a similar fate, being captured and tortured and clipped of their wings, resulting in the weakening, forgetting, and near disappearance of the fairy gene. Mermaids were captured and used as figureheads on the bows of pirate ships, forcing the survivors to hide themselves within the deep dark depths of the sea.

The rest of refugees that had managed to endure the hardship were forced into hiding and over the years, they learned to keep their true identities hidden. But of course, you'd never know about this from reading history books. The existence of magic was erased from all records and if it ever was mentioned, it was always referred to as an "evil act" and viewed as a demonic, unnatural practice.

Meanwhile, the ancient pages that contained the original fairytales grew old as the centuries passed. The magic within them eventually wore out, releasing the legendary fairytale characters into what was known as the modern-day world. But their awakening came with a hefty price. Because they had been sealed away for so long, they'd been stripped of most or _all_ of their magic.

You could guess what happened afterward. The fairytale legends had no choice but to start a new life in a new world, hiding their true heritage as they blended in with the human population.

And it was _because_ of this heritage the Queens were moving to a suburb in Newton, Massachusetts. See, although the original fairytales had lost their own magic, they still kept their magical genes, which they passed down to their offspring. And since their mother was the Evil Queen, Raven and her sisters had _exceptional_ magic.

While Icy and Stormy had the specific powers of ice and storms, Darcy and Raven had regular black magic, though Darcy specialized in illusions. As they grew, so did their powers and abilities. That wasn't entirely a good thing, though. Having their kind of potential was _dangerous, especially_ in this world. The Salem Witch Trials proved enough. In fact, this magical potential was why the Queens were moving _in the first place._

See, there had been an… _accident_.As soon as the rumors of witchcraft had surfaced, the Good King, Mr. Queen, hadn't wasted a second packing up his family and getting out of town. Thus, the Queens had to leave their comfortable life behind in Hartford to start a new one in Boston. And that was what had led up to Icy's current irritation, Stormy's over aggressiveness, Darcy's boredom, and that cramped feeling in Raven's legs. Everything was flowers and sunshine.

"Just try me, Stormy. _Try. Me,"_ growled Icy.

"Oh, it's so on—"

"Girls." Mr. Queen spoke up, silencing oldest and youngest daughters. "There's no need for that. We're _all_ frustrated right now, but let's not take it out on each other." As mentioned earlier, Mr. Queen was the girls' dad and the ironic husband of the—cue dramatic music—the _Evil Queen._ He was a well-known physician with a constant smile and a heart of gold. His deep blue eyes were always twinkling and glowing, especially around his daughters. Sometimes, Raven felt that she and her sisters were responsible for his thinning hair and graying beard—stress could do that to a guy and with the Queen Sisters always bickering, Raven often thought the tension was weighing down on their dad. When she confronted him about it a while back, Mr. Queen had only laughed and assured her that his condition was only caused by the natural phenomenon called aging.

Mr. Queen brightened up. "Hey, why don't we play a game?" he suggested since they were literally going nowhere. "How about a game of I Spy? Darcy's got a keen eye." His daughters, including Raven, let out a groan. Sometimes, their dad just didn't get it. "What?" he said innocently, "I thought that was Icy's favorite game."

Icy facepalmed. "Yeah. When I was _eight._ I'm nearly eigh _teen_ now." And Darcy, her twin, wasn't far behind by a few minutes and then there were Raven and Stormy, "Irish Twins" at age sixteen.

"Yeah, Dad. We're _way_ too old for that game." Raven rolled her eyes. "Since, like, _fifth grade."_

Mr. Queen pouted. "I guess you are too old for that, huh? Time sure does fly. Feels like we brought Stormy from hospital just yesterday."

While Mr. Queen reminisced about the girls when they were in diapers, a sharp pang of guilt stung Raven again. Her growing up wasn't necessarily a good thing. As she grew, so did her powers. _Dark_ powers. Dark powers Raven wasn't very good at controlling. It was the whole reason they had to move to begin with.

Raven sighed, looking down at her hands. These hands were capable of so much. These hands were _dangerous._ Though Raven's mom often encouraged her to embrace her black magic, Raven tried hard to do the opposite. She wasn't evil and didn't want to use her magic to hurt others, especially ones weaker than her. Besides, using magic like that was risky in this world.

The people of the modern day hadn't witnessed outright magic before. They'd _totally_ freak and it could be the Salem Witch trials all over again. Mrs. Queen often encouraged Raven not to fear the magicless humans. _"They are inferior to you, Raven. And you have more than enough potential to prove it._ Make _them know their place. Don't be afraid to follow your evil instincts,_ " Mrs. Queen had once told her daughter. It was a miracle Mrs. Queen had lost her magic or else the whole world would've been in her hands already.

But Raven didn't take after her mother or her sisters. She didn't wish to enslave anyone or dominate anything. Besides, who knew what kind of consequences those decisions would bring Raven, her family, and the world. This wasn't the magical world Raven's parents had come from. The balances here were different and were not to be tried. Not that Raven would ever consider. She wasn't that bold.

Her powers were also the reason she tried not to make friends in the past. She didn't want to risk exposing her family or hurting anyone with her unpredictable magic. Her dad, however, told her things would be different in their new town. Now that Raven was older, Mr. Queen said her magic was stabilizing. She wouldn't have to be so worried about outbursting anymore and was free to be more social. Raven somewhat believed him, though still didn't trust herself or her abilities. Summer vacation was nearly over and school was going to start soon. Mr. Queen had strongly assured her she'd make friends at her new school and Raven believed him.

Maybe moving wouldn't be so bad. Raven felt her mood lifting. Maybe moving wouldn't be such a bad thing. It'd give them all a chance to make a fresh start.

Raven caught herself smiling. Deep down, she just had this feeling. A feeling that this new chapter in her life was going to be different, unpredictable. But in a good way. Well, whatever was to come in the road ahead, Raven would have to face it not as a scared little girl but as the strong young woman both of her parents saw her to be. New Raven would be confident in herself _and_ her abilities, instead of letting her past mistakes haunt her.

It was like Socrates said. The secret of change wasn't fighting the old, but by building and embracing the new.

oOo

Raven wanted to scream with relief when the SUV _finally_ pulled onto their new street, Princevalle Trail. It was wide and lined with charming, beautiful, large homes sitting in the shade of the big, sturdy trees surrounding them. Each lawn was big, manicured, and polished with impressive gardens you'd see on the covers of those home and garden magazines. Raven knew at first glance this neighborhood was elite. After all, her mother wouldn't settle for anything less. Raven had read somewhere that Newton was one of the best places to live in the country, so it wasn't a surprise Mrs. Queen would decide to move here when Mr. Queen announced they'd be relocating to Massachusetts.

The car cruised along the street and eventually turned into a large U-shaped driveway of a regal-looking brick Colonial. The Queen Sisters didn't waste time; they were jumping out before Mr. Queen even shifted into park.

"I thought we'd _never_ get here," muttered Stormy, stretching her arms above her head as she, Darcy, and Icy fanned out across the front lawn.

Raven hopped out last, taking a good look up at the house that loomed above them. It was a dignified beauty completed with a wrap-around porch on both sides, and a symmetrical façade of shuttered double-hung windows. Their house back in Connecticut had looked something similar since Mrs. Queen was a huge fan of that Colonial-revival thing.

And speaking of Mrs. Queen, the girls' mother appeared in the doorway. "Girls!" she exclaimed, taking her huge smartphone down from her ear. Even at her age (of which the girls were forbidden to tell), Mrs. Queen was still extremely beautiful with sharp raven eyes, a youthful face, and flowing dark hair. Though she'd been stripped of her out-of-this-world magic, her out-of-this-world beauty hadn't been taken away from her and Mrs. Queen prided herself in this. Although she was technically no longer the Evil Queen, she still considered herself to be the fairest of them all (that drama with Snow White was a thing of the past apparently).

"How was the trip? Terrible I assume," said Mrs. Queen, rolling her eyes at the SUV. "At first, I thought that piece of junk broke down again. It's doing that way too often. I keep telling your father it's time for a new one."

"And I keep telling _you_ Big Blue's been in the family longer than Stormy and Raven," said Mr. Queen, stepping out of the car. "I can't scrap her now. We've been through too much together."

"Yes. _Far too much_." Mrs. Queen seemed haunted at the memories. Her huge smartphone started to ring in her hand. She scowled at the caller ID. "You better have good news," she hissed into the phone, not even bothering herself with a proper greeting. See, Mrs. Queen wasn't still the Evil Queen beauty-wise, but also personality-wise. She was still imitating as heck, especially when displeased. And her _presence_ was unbearable when she was angry. If looks could kill, everyone Mrs. Queen ever encountered would be drop lifeless with one glance.

"What? What do you mean he—put that idiot on the line!" snapped Mrs. Queen, pinching her forehead. Mrs. Queen wasn't capable of ruling her conquered kingdoms anymore, so she settled with the closest thing: running her own cosmetic line. The job suited her, really. She was already in love with all things beauty, and she definitely had the personality and competitive spirit to endure the vicious worlds of business and marketing.

While Mrs. Queen barked into her phone, Icy suddenly bolted for the front door. "First one inside gets the biggest room!" she shouted over her shoulder.

"Hey, no fair!" whined Stormy, going after Icy.

"Yeah, for _you_!" Darcy, who was a faster runner than Stormy, had already passed her younger sister, tailing Icy.

However, _none of them_ had a chance against Raven, who had a _huge_ advantage. While her sisters were hobbling across the yard in their high heels, Raven had chosen to wear sneakers, which were _way easier_ to run in.

"See you inside!" she grinned, whishing past all her sisters. She made it inside first, jumping over the threshold and landing on the hardwood in the foyer. She jogged up the staircase, taking the stairs two at a time. Her sisters weren't far behind her, the clicking of their heels against the hardwood floors echoing all through the near-empty house (even the movers were running a bit late too).

"I call this one!" shouted Raven, dashing into the first room on the right. Being the room in front, it was very spacious with an expansive window overlooking the street and a long window seat. And as a bonus, the oak tree was directly outside her window, shading her domain from the sun.

Outside, her sisters were quickly claiming their bedrooms too. And apparently, Stormy got stuck with the small one because she began making a fuss. "Hey, how come mine is the smallest?" she complained, storming through the hall.

"Because you were dumb enough to run into it," yawned Icy as the sisters gathered in Raven's room. She took a good look around. "Raven, switch with me," she said expectantly.

Raven furrowed her brows. "What? No way. I claimed it fair and square."

Icy's mouth set into a grim line, meaning she was annoyed. "But it's bigger and I want it. Besides, I'm the oldest so I deserve the best."

Stormy stomped her foot. "No, _I_ should have it!" she insisted stubbornly, folding her arms across her chest. " _I_ deserve it the most since I have to put up with you guys all the time. You guys are always trying to cheat me out of the good things."

"Stormy, no one's trying to cheat you." Darcy rolled her eyes at their dramatic little sister.

"Sorry you two, but this is _my_ room now." This was the first time in a while Raven had finally managed to one up her sisters so she _definitely_ wasn't going to yield to their jealousy.

"Well, I'm certainly not missing out on anything," said Darcy with a smirk, moving one of her curly brown bangs out of her face. "At least I'm not next to Stormy anymore. There's only so much snoring my ears can take."

"I don't snore!" snapped Stormy, " _Icy's_ the one who snores."

"Uh, _excuse me_?" Icy arched eyebrow screamed, _You did NOT just say that._

While Icy and Stormy got into another argument, Darcy walked over to the large window. She peered out and immediately let out a whistle. "Hey girls, you might wanna come see this," she said, her voice laced with a dangerously high level of interest.

All three of her sisters were over to the window in seconds, forgetting about the room dispute. It wasn't very often Darcy was this curious, so whatever had grabbed her attention was _definitely_ worth investigating.

And that whatever was a guy with brown hair in the front lawn of the brick colonial across the street. He was watering the flowery shrubs, completely _shirtless._ Though his back was turned to them, you could already tell he was ripped. The muscles in his backside were nicely toned, and, Raven would admit, looked stunning drenched in sweat. As he moved pointed the water hose at different angles, his muscles undulated nicely.

Icy whistled. "Maybe this day has its advantages after all."

Darcy wasn't missing the opportunity; she was already undoing the latch and opening the window. "Hey! Hot stuff!" she called out to the guy across the street. Raven's sisters were _huge_ flirts, _especially_ Darcy. They liked to get guys wrapped around their fingers, mainly to manipulate them.

The guy across the street turned around. The second they saw his face, Darcy ducked while Stormy and Icy reeled back in horror. Shirtless Muscles adjusted his glasses, looking up at Raven. Raven immediately felt self-conscious as the guy gave her an awkward wave. Great! He thought _Raven_ was the one who caught his attention. Not knowing what to do, Raven gave an awkward wave in return and backed away from the window the second Shirtless Muscles went back to watering his flowers.

"What the heck, guys?!" she snapped, feeling her face flush. "Why'd you do that? That was totally embarrassing!"

Icy looked disgusted. "I take back what I said. This day is getting _worse_."

Stormy scowled. "How can someone with a body like _that_ look so nerdy?"

"I know right. And to think I called him hot," gagged Darcy. "For crying out loud, he wears _glasses._ "

" _You_ wear glasses," countered Raven with a frown.

"Yeah, but _I_ have enough sense not to wear them out in public. Besides, I actually look good in mine," insisted Darcy, watching as Shirtless Muscles retreated back inside his house. "And did you see how awkward he was? Totally not my type. You can have him, Raven."

Raven furrowed her eyebrows. "What? I never said I wanted him." But her sisters had already lost interest in the conversation and were comparing the sizes of their new rooms again.

Raven sighed and facepalmed. They were _so_ hopeless. Thanks to them, Raven was already off to a bad start and they hadn't even lived in their new neighborhood for ten minutes. Ugh, hopefully, Raven wouldn't have to run into that guy anytime soon….

* * *

If Roxy Quinn was one thing, it was _tired._

She yawned as she wiped down the rest of the equipment while her dad flipped the business sign in the window from OPEN to CLOSED, ending another hectic day at Frutti Smoothie, her dad's juice bar.

"I can finish closing up, Rox," said Klaus Quinn, her dad, taking a broom.

Roxy nodded, letting her long hair loose from its high ponytail. "I'll go get my stuff," she said, disappearing into the back room to get her bag. Amaryl, the juice bar's other worker, was sitting in the small employee's room, taking off her uniform.

"I thought this day would never end," she grumbled, removing her plaid top, exposing her orange-and-pink bra. "That businessman was getting on my nerves." Being known to have a temper, Amaryl found fault in at least one customer a day. Today, she got annoyed with some fortysomething in a suit who hung around all day using the free wi-fi and flirting with her. Yesterday, she had been highly irritated with an old lady who couldn't decide what she wanted in her smoothie.

"I think he had a crush on you," said Roxy, taking up her Hello Kitty tote from the bench and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Puh-leez. He's at least thirty. And I totally saw him take off his wedding ring before coming in." Amaryl rolled her eyes, sliding off her skirt. In nothing but her matching undergarments, the girl dug through her Nike bag in search of her other outfit.

"No one's your type," pointed out Roxy, recalling the countless number of cute guys who came into the shop in hopes of wooing Amaryl, but ended up leaving with a smoothie and broken heart.

It was so serious, Klaus used Amaryl's attractiveness as a secret weapon to get more customers (specifically the male kind). He moved the cash register Amaryl operated onto the center of the front counter so she was visible through the window to passing civilians outside. All it took was one glance into the shop at Amaryl, and the passerby would become a regular customer from then on out.

It wasn't like Roxy was bothered by it; she could see why guys liked Amaryl so much. She had fair skin, deep green eyes, and cute short honey-brown hair. A guy would be crazy _not_ to find her attractive.

"Because the type of man I want is rare," insisted Amaryl, her voice muffled by the fresh new tee she was yanking over her head.

Roxy giggled. "If you say so." Though she was full of attitude, Amaryl was a real hoot sometimes. That was probably why she was so fun to work and be around.

"Hey, why don't I give you a ride back home?" offered Amaryl suddenly, wiggling into a new skirt.

"Huh? But don't you have to go your grandmother's house tonight?"

"Yeah, but I pass your place on the way. C'mon, Rox. It's been a while since we talked outside of work." Finished changing, Amaryl stuffed her uniform into her bag and started for exit.

"Dad, I'm riding with Amaryl tonight," she called out to her father.

"Okay, that's fine. I have some things I need to take care of anyway. And Amaryl, remember—l"

"I know, I know. Yellow means slow down, not floor the heck out of the gas pedal," yawned Amaryl like that was old news, pushing open the exit. Roxy followed after her, stepping out into the small parking lot.

Amaryl's ride was an old Toyota, a hand-me-down from the older sister Amaryl claimed to hate.

"So what's it like?" asked Amaryl, turning her Toyota onto the street.

"What's what like?"

"You know. Living with single dad."

Roxy shrugged. "It's normal." She didn't exactly know how to answer that.

" _Normal_? Girl, please. That's gotta be awkward. I can't even imagine _mentioning_ bra shopping to my dad more less actually _going_ with him. And don't get me started on periods. How'd he explain that to you?"

Roxy couldn't help but giggle. "It's not all that weird. Contrary to your belief, it's actually pretty normal to me. I don't really remember my mom, so it's always just been me and Dad."

"So…have you talked to him about boys?" Amaryl seemed more than curious.

"Okay, moving on," announced Roxy with another giggle.

The rest of the car ride was like that; Amaryl asking bizarre questions and Roxy giving her silly answers. Eventually, the car turned onto Roxy's street of row houses.

After wishing Amaryl a good night, Roxy walked up her walkway and was surprised to find _another_ stray cat waiting at her doorstep. This was the third time this week! No way Klaus would let her take in another cat! Roxy bit her lip nervously as the cat looked up at her with big puppy eyes. It was so cute and tiny. She couldn't just leave it out here. The poor thing was probably starving.

But her dad had already made it perfectly clear they had enough animals and wasn't interested in sheltering more. Roxy didn't want to upset him but…

The small cat gave an innocent meow and rolled over onto its backside. It purred softly. Roxy felt herself giving in. There'd be no trouble in only feeding it, right? Her dad never said she couldn't do that. Besides, who knew how long the poor thing had gone without food. It probably didn't have much energy.

"Aw, come here," cooed Roxy, bending down and scooping up the cat. She unlocked the front door and walked into the house. Artu, her dog and best friend, instantly ran down the stairs and gave his mistress a greeting yip.

"Hey, boy!" Roxy dropped her bag onto the floor, giving her dog a rub on the head. "I missed you too." Roxy carried the new cat into the kitchen, where the other three cats were already waiting for her. Lately, a lot of strays just started showing up in the yard out of the blue and since Roxy had a serious soft spot for animals, she had to take them all in.

Roxy poured some kitty chow into a few bowls for the first three cats, and then into Artu's food bowl for the new one. Roxy watched as all the cats greedily devoured their food. She noticed that the orange one, Tiger, was becoming spoiled; every time she fed him the particular brand of food, he always picked out the green pieces and left them on the floor for her to clean up. Something similar was happening to Midnight and Snowball as well. Midnight was always demanding attention and Snowball wouldn't use the little box unless it was set nearby a window. Klaus always said Roxy was too lenient with the cats, but he was even worse.

After the new cat, who Roxy had just named Bandit, finished his food, he helped himself to the green pieces Tiger had set aside. "You must've been really hungry, huh?" Roxy smiled softly as she scooped up the small cat. He meowed, relaxing in Roxy's arms.

Roxy stroked his backside gently. He was so warm and soft. No way could Roxy leave him outside to fend for himself. That was cruel. She'd just let him sleep in her room tonight. There was no harm in that.

After feeding Artu, Roxy started dinner. Her dad had always been convinced Roxy would become the neighborhood's cat lady. Yes, Roxy would keep lots of cats, but she wouldn't be confined to her home. And she wasn't a social outsider either. She could love animals _and_ human beings. It wasn't uncommon.

And Roxy wouldn't call her love for animals abnormal either. Animals were living things too and deserved affection just as much as people. Besides, Roxy just had…a _connection_ with animals. Sometimes, it was almost like she could feel their feelings and hear their thoughts. Like they had some kind of bond. This might've sounded crazy, but Roxy felt like the animals understood her too. Whenever she spoke with them, they seemed to comprehend.

Almost like there was some kind of _magic_ tying them together.


	2. Manuel, Dexter

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Considering this is a crossover, I was expecting six reviews after the first** _ **four**_ **chapters, but I got that much with only one. TYSM! I hope you guys keep leaving me great feedback! Well, here's the second chapter. Hope you like it! xoxoxoxo**

* * *

 **Raven**

The Queen household was a wreck. A total, utter _wreck._

Although they'd just moved into their new house a little less than a week ago, everything was still so disorderly. Most of the furniture was still plastic-wrapped and overturned in random rooms, the boxes were stacked feet high and extremely unorganized. And to add on to that, Mrs. Queen had been _severely_ irritable. She was in the process of setting up a new laboratory downtown and she insisted her cosmetic chemists were being "difficult fools" again, so the move was just adding on to her burdens and making things run slower. Not only that, but Mr. Queen was also busy with his new medical practice, plus the girls were in the middle of being processed into the local high school for the new school year, so the Queens just had a whole bunch of stuff going on.

That's why it was a relief to finally get out the house for some fresh air. The Queen girls, excluding Darcy who'd decided to stay home, were taking a walk down Princevalle Trail headed towards town. Honestly, Raven liked their new neighborhood. Every house seemed to have its own unique feel that tied the neighborhood together, made it feel _enchanted_ in some way. Plus, there was a Starbucks around the corner. That sealed the deal.

The girls entered the coffee shop, immediately greeted by the smell of coffee beans and a long line. Like their mother, Icy and Stormy were abnormally impatient, so Raven had to endure their murmurs of complaint until it was their turn to order. Afterwards, Raven's sisters had to go visit the ladies' room (most likely to check their makeup. They didn't believe in using public toilets), leaving Raven to look after their stuff.

Ugh. They always sued Raven like this. Sometimes she—

"Uh, excuse me," went an unsteady voice.

Noticing she was standing in the way, Raven whirled around. "Oh, sorry about that—" She felt a wave embarrassment washing over her as she recognized the guy to be "Shirtless Muscles" from across the street. Oh boy. This was so awkward. Thanks to Darcy's stunt, he thought Raven was the one who'd called him "hot stuff". Raven had been hoping she wouldn't have to interact with him for a few months (or at least until he forgot about the whole incident) but now that they were face-to-face not even a week later, Raven was cornered.

"Uh, hey… _neighbor."_ Raven gave a nervous smile, inwardly scolding herself. Ugh! Why did she have to call him that? If there was any chance he had forgotten about what happened last week, he certainly remembered now.

The guy gave a weird grin in return. "Uh… _hey._ Um, are-aren't you the cute girl— _I mean,_ the girl with the cute _sweater_." He laughed nervously. "Aren't you the girl with the cute _sweater_ who moved in across the street a couple of days ago?"

He could be referring to any one of the Queen sisters, but Raven had a strong feeling he was talking about her. "Yeah. Well, at least one of them. I have three sisters. You've probably seen one of them."

He adjusted his glasses, studying her closely. Now that Raven was up close, he really _was_ nerdy. But in a good way! There was nothing wrong with being nerdy! "I'm not sure but I've seen _you_."

Raven gulped. He totally recognized her! She was so screwed! "Uh, I…don't think I've seen you around," she lied, trying hard not to look…weird. Which she was _totally_ being. _Why am I making myself look like such a fool?!_ she thought.

"No, I've definitely seen you. You, uh, called out to me the other day." The guy was sweating intensely. Great! Now Raven was probably making him uncomfortable.

"It wasn't me!" she accidently blurted. The guy looked startled. " _I mean,_ I wasn't the one who called you hot," she explained quickly. Realizing how rude that sounded, she added, "I'm not saying you're not hot, but it was one of my sisters who said you were that day. She, er, walked away from the window before you turned around and I happened to be coincidentally standing right there so I thought that you thought I was the one who called out to you." She sighed, facepalming. '"Sorry, I sound extremely weird right now. I just…I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea, you know? I'm new here and I didn't want to start out on a bad note."

The guy looked taken aback. And then he looked disappointed for a split second. "Oh. Yeah. I understand. I can be a bit socially conscious too. A little too much at times." He grinned goofily, making Raven notice the twinkling pair of blue eyes begin his glasses. "I'm Dexterous by the way. But you can just call me Dexter. Or Dex."

Relived that he wasn't marking her as The Weird Girl Who Stalks Me from Her Bedroom Window, Raven offered a hand. "I'm Raven Queen. It's nice to meet you, Dexter. I hope we can become friends." They shared a hand shake, in which Raven tried not to notice Dexter's sweaty grip.

"Y-yeah." Dexter turned bright red. "Me-me too." Before things could get more awkward than what they already were, a girl with platinum blond hair called out to Dexter from the exit. "Oh, uh, sorry but I have to go," said Dexter quickly, "I'm out with my sister and—"

"No, I totally get it. I am too. Well, two of them. I'll see you later?"

Dexter smiled. "Yeah. I'd like that."

Raven watched as Dexter and his sister pressed through the glass doors, disappearing down the street. Phew. At least that was taken care of. Just when she was relaxing, she startled when Icy suddenly cleared her throat. Raven whirled around to see Stormy and Icy standing by the condiment bar. "How long have you guys been standing there?" frowned Raven.

Icy yawned. "Long enough to see you holding hands with the gross nerd from across the street."

Stormy looked disgusted. "We didn't want to be seen with someone like _that_ , so we stayed over here. Ugh, now I don't wanna be seen with _you._ If Darcy were here, she'd be rolling her eyes right now. You have bad taste in guys, Raven."

"Okay, for one, Dexter's not gross. Second, I don't see what the problem is. _Darcy_ was the one who called him hot," pointed out Raven, folding her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, beforeshe witnessed the _rest_ of him," said Stormy, wrinkling her nose as the girls exited the establishment with their coffees.

"He's not all bad. Get rid of the glasses, _then_ you'd have something to work with," insisted Icy as they crossed the street.

"You guys are so hopeless," groaned Raven. She was kinda glad Dexter hadn't met them first. They'd definitely scare him off. Plus they'd give him the wrong impression about her. No lie, Raven wanted to be friends with Dexter. Being the new kid on the block, she didn't have any friends, so it would be nice to have someone other than her sisters to talk to. Who knew? Maybe the two would become good friends in the future. Raven would like that.

Raven would like that a lot.

oOo

The house next door to Raven's was like some kind of swan sanctuary; there were _always_ swans in the yard, perched on the front porch, chilling in the shade under the oak tree at the front of the house. No matter what time of day, at least one swan was always accounted for. However, the afternoon was usually when most of them showed up, _especially_ between the hours of two and four. At times, you couldn't even see the front lawn because there were _that many_ swans flocking about. Mr. Queen said whoever lived there was probably feeding them, thus the reason the swans kept coming.

That was why as the girls strolled down Princevalle Trail toward their house they could see all the swan clustering together in the yard next door, greedily pecking at the ground. A few were even wandering in the Queens' yard.

The girls paused on the sidewalk the second they saw their yard. Icy scowled at all the swan droppings. "Oh, c' _mon_ ," she hissed, stomping her foot.

Stormy gagged. "No _way_ I'm picking that up."

"Mom's gonna be mad…" trailed off Raven, shuddering at the very thought.

The girls' heads snapped toward the neighbor's house as the front door screeched open and a tall teenage girl with olive skin and side-swept black, white, and mauve-streaked hair walked out onto the front porch.

Icy didn't waste any time. "Hey!" she called out nastily, "keep your little vermin _and_ their waste in your _own_ yard!

The olive-skinned girl walked down her front steps in her pumps, scowling at them. "Oh, hush up. They're not hurting you. And they're _swans,_ braniac."

 _Oh boy._ Raven sucked in her breath. You did _not_ sass one of her sisters and expect to get away with it.

"They could care less about your little _vermin_ , honey. But last time I checked, this _isn't_ your property and if you _don't_ do something about these winged menaces, I'm calling animal control," snapped Icy, glaring ice at their neighbor. One thing that went for all of Raven's sisters: they weren't animal lovers. At all. And the same went tenfold for Mrs. Queen.

"Tch, I don't care," scoffed their teenage neighbor, walking down her driveway and onto the sidewalk. "They can't do anything either. Besides, I'm not afraid of them." She paused on the concrete, smirking at Icy. "Do you even know how many times the other annoying neighbors did the same thing? And guess what? The swans keep coming _back_. So it really doesn't matter what you do. The swans are here to stay."

At this point, Stormy had already lost interest in the situation and gone inside while Raven just watched from their own driveway, keeping her distance from their soiled lawn. She found it best to let Icy do her own thing, especially when she was ticked off like the way she was now.

"Well, I got some news for you, swan girl." Icy's voice was low and threatening. "I'm not like the other neighbors. If I want something _, I_ _get it_. And you can't do anything about it. Point blank. So if I want these feathery pests out of my yard, you better believe they're keeping their beaked butts out of my yard."

The neighbor, "Swan Girl", just made a "pfft" sound. "Whatever. Call who you want, but you're not laying a finger on my swans. They're here to stay so _get used to it._ "

Icy pressed her lips together. "Oh yeah? Just _watch_ me." Without any hesitation, Icy started for the lone swan hanging out by their shrubs. Just as she was reaching out to snatch up the bird by surprise, the winged animal turned around and charged at her. Icy let out a yelp, whirling around and running away as the swan chased after her, hissing and flapping its wings madly.

"Icy!" yelped Raven, hurrying over to help. Unfortunately, the vicious swan wasn't having it so it steered away from Icy and charged at Raven. Raven shrieked, making a break for it. While Mean Swan pursed Raven, one of his buddies decided to fly over and help out by attacking Icy.

While the birds gave chase to the sisters, Stormy, who had decided to watch from the safety of Raven's window, laughed heartily as the swans pecked and hissed at her sisters. Screaming, Raven and Icy folded their arms over their heads as protection as the swans rose into the air a few times in an attempt to bite at their ears.

Panicked, Icy and Raven charged up the front stairs, jumping onto the porch. Icy tried opening the front door, but it wouldn't budge. Icy pulled on the handles harder. "What the—? It's locked? _STORMY!_ "And speaking of their younger sister, Stormy's laughter drifted down from Raven's window.

"Stormy, so help me, if you don't open this door!" shouted Raven, pounding on it as the two swans slowly approached the porch, readying to attack again.

Stormy just laughed harder.

"Oh, _forget this_ ," growled Icy, aiming a bolt of magic at the handles. They heard the door unlock and the girls burst inside, slamming the door shut behind them. Breathing heavily, the two girls let themselves fall back onto the doors, sliding down onto a sitting position on the hardwood.

"Ew," winced Raven, taking off a flip-flop and lifting it up to see swan poop smeared all over the sole. She winced again to see both she and Icy had tracked it into the foyer. "Mom's gonna kill us," she groaned.

"But not before I kill those birds first," assured Icy, rising to her feet and kicking off her ruined shoes. "They and that girl are gonna _pay._ Where's the phonebook?" she fumed, disappearing into the back of the house. "I'm calling animal control, the pound, pest control, wildlife removal, _anyone_ who can get rid of those geese."

"Swans," corrected Raven, abandoning her own shoes and following Icy into the kitchen. She went into the cabinets under the sink, grabbing a bottle of Lysol.

"I don't care! If I have to, I'll curse that whole house," said Icy in her _you better believe it_ voice, going through the drawers in desperate search for the yellow pages.

Stormy appeared in the archway, still chuckling to herself. "What you did back there was so not cool, Stormy," said Raven thinly, narrowing her eyes at her sister as she passed by on her way to the foyer.

She drenched the floor with Lysol and wiped up all the disgusting swan poop with some paper towel. _Someone_ had to clean up the mess, especially before their parents—specifically their mom— got back. That someone was always Raven since Stormy thought she was too good to clean, Darcy was somewhere else doing her own thing, and Icy was too busy planning her revenge on some geese— _swans._

Raven startled when she heard a sudden tapping sound. She looked up to see one of the swans pecking furiously on the other side of the sidelight. She rushed into the office and peered through the blinds at the front yard. The other mean swan was at the bottom of the porch steps honking madly.

Raven groaned. These things were so relentless.

"Oh, whatever. It was funny," yawned Stormy. "You guys looked like fools. And you were loud. I bet Darcy and that guy heard—"

"Guy? What _guy?"_ demanded Icy and Raven simultaneously.

Stormy shrugged. "The guy she's with in the back."

Raven and Icy were heading for the back doors within a millisecond. Icy, who had apparently forgotten about her vendetta, swung the door open and stepped out onto the deck. Sure enough, Darcy was lounging on the furniture with a spiky-haired guy around their age.

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here." Icy grinned. "Hey, Darcy, remember that rule Mom and Dad gave us? _No boys_ allowed while they're gone."

Darcy, who had taken off her glasses, just rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Icy."

Icy shot a look at the guy. "Who _are_ you anyway?"

He snorted. "None of your business."

Darcy sighed as if they were hopeless. "Riven, these are my sisters. Just ignore them."

Icy's grin immediately faded away. "Wait. You're serious about this? _This_ is the best you could do?" She seemed genuinely surprised. Usually, Darcy was never serious about her boyfriends. She only saw them as entertainment. And once they got old, they were out the door.

Riven growled. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Icy glared at him. "You're not good enough."

"Icy." Raven frowned. Her sisters were so harsh.

"What? I'm just saying," insisted Icy innocently, "we've met guys who look way more promising than this. Ugh, first Raven and now Darcy. What does this guy even have to offer?"

"Seriously, Icy. _Chill_ ," said Raven. Though he technically wasn't supposed to be here, Icy dint have to be such a jerk to the guy.

"Yeah, Icy. Chill. Riven's not as hopeless as you think." Although clearly annoyed, Darcy stayed calm. She turned back to Riven. "So what about that ride?"

"Ride?" repeated Icy.

"Riven has a motorcycle."

"Really?" gasped Icy with mock surprise. "He has a _motorcycle?_ Raven, hear that? He has a _motorcycle!_ He rides around town on two wheels! How _fascinating."_

Raven stifled a laugh at Icy's sarcasm. Darcy narrowed her eyes at them both.

"Tch, I don't need this." Raven stood up from the edge of the lounge chair. He was about to cross over into the backyard, but Icy stopped him.

"Why don't you leave through the front door instead?" she suggested with an icy smile, "Dad just started planting flowers and we can't have you stomping on them with those unattractively large feet of yours, now can we?"

Raven made a mental note to never bring a boy home if she valued his self-esteem in the slightest.

When Riven left—Icy had nearly pushed him out—lcy slammed the front door shut and giggled. "Good riddance."

"What's your problem, Icy?" Darcy folded her arms across her chest. "We weren't bothering you."

Icy smirked. "I won't have to worry about that any time soon. You're welcome."

"What're you saying?" Darcy furrowed her brows.

"What I'm saying is that Riven won't be showing up here for a while." Icy chuckled.

"What did you do?" demanded Darcy.

"I didn't do anything! However, what happens to him from this point isn't my fault."

Raven gasped, remembering the swans. So that was why Icy wanted him to go out of the front door! She rushed into the office and looked out the window. Sure enough, Riven was running down the street with the swans snapping at his heels.

* * *

 **Roxy**

While most kids spent the last days of their summer vacation watching movies or swimming at the beach, Roxy was stuck operating a cash register. It was late afternoon and the smoothie bar was busy as usual. While friendly Klaus was charming the customers outside again, Roxy and Amaryl were practically running the smoothie bar.

It was no problem, though. The girls had a system. While Amaryl operated the machines, Roxy was in charge of the register. They switched every hour, so now Roxy was handling the register and the customers. And just as Roxy thought they were about to get a break, the bell above the door rang as someone else entered.

"Hi, can I…" Roxy trailed short the second she laid eyes on the young man standing on the other side of the counter. Her body completely froze and she found herself stuttering. She'd never seen anything like him. Long strawberry-blond hair, deep olive-green eyes, fair completion. She was so awestruck by his handsomeness she couldn't even find words. Thankfully, Amaryl could.

"Hi there! Ignore the idiot beside me," she said, nudging gaping Roxy beside. "She's so hopeless." She didn't say it to be mean; just teasing again.

Strawberry (that was what Roxy was calling him now), grinned friendlily. The whole time Amaryl took care of him, Roxy couldn't stop staring. At one point, his eyes actually met hers and she quickly looked down. She didn't want him to think she was a pervert or something.

Amaryl must've noticed how flustered Roxy was because she looked at Strawberry and asked with a wink, "So are you single? Do you live around here? Because I have a friend you could totally hook up with. She'd be perfect for you."

Roxy felt herself turning red and looked away, hoping Strawberry wouldn't see and think Amaryl was talking about her.

Strawberry just laughed. "Yes and yes. I just moved here a few weeks ago. And I doubt that. If all your friends are nearly as pretty as you, they'd be too _good_ for me."

Roxy's heart fell. Was he…flirting with Amaryl?

"Stop it," giggled Amaryl, handing him his smoothie. "Come around again?"

Strawberry winked at Amaryl. "Definitely. Before pushing out of the door and onto the street, he looked over his shoulder and grinned. "I'm Manuel, by the way." And with that, he disappeared.

"What was that?" squeaked Roxy. "Are you into him?"

"No. But _you_ are. You should be thanking me, really," insisted Amaryl, "thanks to me, you not only know his name but you also know he stays somewhere over here. He looks around your age. He could be going to the same school as you next week."

Roxy felt herself brightening up. There was a possibility. Eh, forger summer vacation. Now Roxy couldn't wait to start school. She'd never really been one to be excited about extreme math, terrible cafeteria food, and unattractive gym clothes, but it'd all be worth it if Manuel was there.

Maybe she had a chance with him. He _was_ single after all. And so was Roxy. They could be a couple. Anything was possible.


	3. Give in to the Dark Side, Raven

**A/n: I might not get a lot of story alerts, but I honestly don't care. I love this story and I'm sticking with it.**

* * *

 **Raven**

Being a dark sorceress (which was technically a witch but Mrs. Queen hated that term because it made one sound undesirable, old, and pruny. And Raven had to agree, honestly) had its advantages _and_ disadvantages.

Sure, you could clean your room with the simple snap of your fingers and get rid of bad hair days no problem, but magic wasn't all peaches and tea parties, _especially_ for Raven. See, Raven wasn't a big fan of magic. For one, using magic in this world was dangerous. Also, Raven's magic was nothing but dark power, and dark power was used for no other purpose than to dominate and destroy. And since Raven had no wish to do either, she rarely resorted to her black magic. Unfortunately for her, there were times when recognizing her power was simply inevitable. Like today, for instance.

The second her alarm clock chimed at seven that morning, Raven groaned loudly. She _so_ did not want to be getting up this early. She'd already promised herself she'd sleep in during these last few days of summer vacation, but _he_ expected Raven and her sisters at eight o'clock sharp.

Uggghhh. Muttering to herself in complaint, Raven rolled off her bed and dragged herself into the hallway. Her sisters were just stepping out of their own rooms, yet they appeared far more eager. Raven never completely understood why _he_ had that effect on her sisters. Icy, Darcy, and Stormy hated people, but _he_ was an exception, apparently.

"Chop chop, Raven." Icy clapped her hands together impatiently.

"Hold your horses. I still have an hour," grumbled Raven.

She took her time getting ready, and ate really slow at breakfast. She stalled a little longer by doing some of her chores and then met up with her sisters in the backyard at seven fifty-five. Of course, Raven's sisters were irritated as heck with Raven's tardiness.

"About time. We were about to leave without you," said Stormy, flaring her nostrils.

"You should've." Raven rolled her eyes. "Okay, whose turn is it?"

"Yours," replied her annoyed sisters simultaneously.

Raven's face fell. "Seriously? I thought I went last time."

Icy shook her head. "Darcy did." She sighed. "It's already bad enough we're gonna be late, but since _you're_ casting the spell? It'll be a miracle if we even make it there."

Raven folded her arms across her chest. "Hey. I might not be good with magic but—"

"Both of you just stop," cut in Darcy with a yawn, "Raven, just go ahead and get this over with. I don't have all day."

Raven gritted her teeth. _"Fine."_ So it looked like she was casting the spell. It was safe to do so in their backyard because trees aligned all three sides of the fence, giving them complete privacy.

Raven closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. So it looked like this was up to her. She wasn't feeling too confident about that, either. She was a bit shaky in all her spells, but her teleportation spells were the absolute worse. "Well, here goes nothing," she murmured to herself. She placed her hands on her temples, trying hard to focus. She thought about _his_ place in the sky. She thought above the clouds. She thought about being anywhere but on the ground.

Her magic activated, an amethyst-colored haze spiraling around the sisters. Raven squeezed her eyes shut, hoping she got the spell right. "Raven," said Icy in a monotone.

Raven's eyes popped open. The haze had cleared out, and they were no longer in their yard. All that surrounded them was the sky. "I…I did it?" she asked uncertainly. Then she noticed Dexter's rooftop across the street. What?

Raven took a look around, noticing _all_ the rooftops of the neighboring houses down their street. She then looked down to see the street itself. She cringed, realizing she'd teleported them on top of their own roof.

Icy facepalmed and Stormy rolled her eyes dramatically. "And this is why Raven Queen doesn't cast the spells," announced Stormy.

"Hey, cut me some slack! You know I don't like using magic," snapped Raven, putting her hands on her hips. "Besides, teleportation spells are complicated—"

"Then quit trying to cast it the advanced way." Darcy raised an eyebrow at Raven.

"Okay, okay. Hold your horses." Raven started to get a headache. She had put too much magic into that last spell. Maybe it was best she did the spell the easy way. Sighing, she started to focus her magic again. Once she mustered enough strength, she started to chant the spell, _"Up and above, the clouds and the sky, send us to his dwelling place, which lingers far from the average eye."_

There was a haze of magic again. When it all cleared out, Raven lifted her face to see a huge pair of arching doors looming above them. The tall, dark cathedral-style castle connected to them was no doubt their mentor's castle, meaning Raven's spell had worked. "Ha! On my second try!" she triumphed.

"Oh, please. This is hardly an accomplishment. You had to chantthe spell like a _rookie_ ," said Stormy with disgust as the grand entrance automatically opened for them. "If you ask me, that's nothing to boast about." And with that, Raven's sisters entered the castle.

Raven hissed at their backsides. Her sisters never gave her any credit. As they disappeared into the castle, Raven stayed outside. She walked across the yard, stopping on the edge. Though she didn't really care for this place, she loved the scenery. The castle was on top of the clouds—literally. A giant, fluffy cloud supported the fountain of the castle, so the structure was always afloat. It was surrounded by nothing but the deep-blue dark and a sea of clouds, of which the sun peaked above majestically.

See, this castle above the clouds belonged to the girls' dark magic teacher, Valtor. Yes, _that_ Valtor. _The_ dark wizard. Since the magic worlds had been poisoned, Valtor, like many other survivors, were awakened in the real world. But unlike them, Valtor's magic never ran dry. He was still capable of conquering kingdoms, destroying worlds. Thus, the protectors of the planet had to seal him away in his domain, the castle that set atop the clouds. Rippling around his dominion was an invisible shield that kept the dark wizard trapped within his castle. And to risk discovery, the protecting field was also enchanted with a few other spells, cloaking the castle from anyone outside it.

After taking in the view for a few minutes, Raven went inside after her sisters. No matter how much she hated their lessons, there was simply no avoiding them. She caught up with Icy, Darcy, and Stormy in one of the corridors and they found their mentor in his gothic-style study.

Valtor was levitating above the rug in the center of the floor, cross-legged as he meditated. His long blond hair flowed all around him as he chanted a spell in one of the ancient languages. Below him, burning candles were positioned on the floor, their flame crackling and spitting sparks as the dark wizard muttered to himself.

Knowing better than to mess with a dark wizard when he was deep in meditation, the girls kept their distance. While her sisters watched with fascination, Raven simply yawned and rolled her eyes. Her sisters had a huge crush on Valtor—and his power.

After a while, Valtor landed gently in the center of the rug and his candles immediately gave out. His eyelids popped open and his dark grey eyes immediately focused on the girls. "You're late," he said calmly.

"Blame Raven," said Stormy and Icy automatically. "Her spells suck," complained Stormy.

"She's way too inexperienced with her magic," added Darcy like she was some kind of know-it-all.

Raven kept her cool. She was used to this. It was like this every time they visited Valtor. See, Raven's sisters were competitive. And considering they all had major crushes on Valtor, they tried to get his attention, mainly by trying to make each other—mostly Raven—look bad.

"You're _all_ inexperienced," said Valtor, rising to his feet. He clasped his hands behind his back and started walking away. Raven's sisters practically ran after him.

"Oh, brother. Here we go again," grumbled Raven, folding her arms across her chest as she started after them.

" _I_ can do a teleportation spell perfectly," insisted Stormy as they followed Valtor down the dark corridor.

Darcy smirked. "That's _your_ weakness too."

"Nuh-uh! I can cast that spell with my hands tied behind my back."

"Why don't you prove it then?"

"Girls." Valtor's strong voice stopped Darcy and Stormy from erupting into another argument. "Weaknesses are nothing more than obstacles to overcome. And as dark sorceresses, all of you are expected to acknowledge your weak points and turn them into one of your greatest and strongest capabilities. There is far more to magic than just mastering the art."

He brought them into the great chamber, where they usually practiced spells. He stood by the fireplace, looking over his four students. "Last time you were here, I told each of you to pick an advanced offensive spell and practice working it. I expect all of you to demonstrate total control and understanding of the spell. Icy, you first."

Icy stepped forward. "Happily," she smirked. She put her hands together, aiming her snowy magic at Valtor. Though the spell hit him in the chest, Valtor didn't even flinch. He stood unaffected for a few seconds, but then suddenly started to shrink down.

"I chose the miniaturizing spell," giggled Icy, "and from the looks of it, I executed it flawlessly."

And suddenly, as if to prove her wrong, Valtor stopped shrinking and reverted to his normal nice. "Not quite," he said calmly, looking indifferent. "That spell was far from complete. For one, a miniaturizing spell such as that is supposed to shrink its victim down to the size of an ant. And secondly, it's supposed to be _permanent_. I knew the spell wouldn't work due to the delayed response it had on my body. Spells like that are meant to work instantly, but yours took a few seconds to go into effect. Depending on the opponent, those few seconds are all it would take for them to reverse the spell or direct one at you."

Icy's face went brighter than a tomato. Darcy and Stormy grinned at Icy's failure.

"Darcy." Valtor beckoned to the second Queen Sister.

Darcy took Icy's place, giving her a quick smirk. " _I_ actually worked hard to master my spell," she insisted arrogantly.

"We'll see."

"I chose the transformation spell," said Darcy, charging her magic in her palms. "Don't worry, I promise I'll turn you into something cute and cuddly." She aimed the magic at Valtor. Unlike Icy's, Darcy's spell kicked in immediately. With a _poof,_ a small white bunny sat where Valtor once stood. Darcy grinned at her success. Icy hissed and Stormy rolled her eyes like she wasn't impressed.

 _Poof!_

The girls startled as the bunny was replaced with a dark purple snake. And the snake turned into a goat. And then into a deer. The girls watched in horror as Valtor started to take many forms, each transformation occurring a second apart. One moment he was a small mouse, the next he was a large bullfrog.

Icy let out a chilly laugh. "Ha! You call _that_ a mastered spell?" she taunted as Valtor went from the bullfrog to a puppy. " _Raven_ could do better than that."

Valtor transformed back into his man form, his face completely indifferent still. "That spell was completely unstable and you couldn't control over the chain reaction. Your magic triggered multiple transformations—far too many. That kind of backfire could've resulted in an unstable magic distribution and negatively influence your magic."

Now it was Darcy's turn to scowl.

"Stormy, you next. Can you prove more resourceful than your sisters?"

"You bet." The witch of storms pushed Darcy out the way, grinning wickedly. "I decided to try a _voodoo_ spell."

The second she said _voodoo,_ Raven knew Stormy was about to make a mistake. Being the most aggressive, Stormy always tried to prove she was strongest by choosing extreme spells. Raven knew for a fact Stormy wasn't ready for something that powerful. "Uh, Stormy? I don't think that's a good idea," she said, uncertainty laced her voice.

"Whatever. You're just jealous because you know I'll _ace_ this," insisted Stormy haughtily. "Just watch." Lightning started to cackle all around her. She directed a current at Valtor, and it passed straight through his chest. That lighting returned to Stormy and she embraced it, morphing it into some kind of doll.

"Isn't that going to hurt?" worried Raven, glancing between Valtor and Stormy.

"Don't worry. It'll only be a pinch," giggled Stormy. She electrocuted the doll with a small current of lightning. Raven expected Valtor to spasm or something, but he never flinched. Instead, _Stormy_ let out a small cry, dropping the voodoo doll and dropping to the ground.

"Stormy!" yelped Raven, immediately rushing to her sister's side.

Stormy, however, snapped and waved Raven away. "I'm fine," she growled through her teeth, slowly rising to her feet.

"A spell that has once again been conducted improperly," announced Valtor, shaking his head with disappointment. "It was doomed from the start when you failed to use the correct absorption spell. In order for a voodoo spell to work, you must capture the essence of your opponent. You thought you could do so by shocking me with your magic, but all you did was—"

"Okay, I get it," snapped Stormy, pressing her lips together.

One thing about Raven's sisters: they couldn't accept failure in the slightest.

"Failure is a dark sorcerer's biggest setback, ladies. Remember that. Failure is never an option. " Valtor turned to face Raven. ""And last but not least, we have Raven. Will you succeed where your sisters failed, or will you display the same amount of inexperience and arrogance?"

Raven felt her sisters glaring at her. Their jealousy was radiating off them. Alas, Raven chose to ignore them. "I chose a paralysis spell," she said in a monotone. Well, she actually hadn't planned on doing _any_ kind of spell, but Mrs. Queen had insisted she practiced at least one.

Raven conjured some magic in her hands and fired it at Valtor. And it wasn't until then Raven noticed her aim had been off. Instead of sailing at Valtor, her bolt of magic flew past him, bouncing off the walls erratically.

"Look out!" cried out Raven, ducking as her spell flew overhead. The blur of purple ricocheted off the window and whizzed straight at Icy. Raven gasped as her spell hit her sister. Icy froze in position almost instantly.

"Hey! I can't move!" shrieked Icy, her face frozen with her last sour expression.

Raven fidgeted. "Uh, oops?"

"Well done, Raven. Your paralyzing spell worked, apparently." Valtor forwarded a light cloud of magic at Icy, reversing Raven's spell. "I find that odd. Why is it Raven, the only one of you who doesn't display confidence in her power, is always the only one who executes her spells the best?"

"Tch, whatever. She was just lucky," insisted Stormy, "everyone knows those kinds of spells are the easiest."

Valtor ignored Stormy's comment. "I think I might see the problem. Tell me, do you three exercise a lot?" Raven's sisters exchanged confused looks. "Sorcerers must stay healthy so their magic doesn't fade away or become unstable," he explained.

Valtor snapped his fingers and exercise equipment appeared in the room. "Well, get to it," he said, glancing between Icy, Darcy, and Stormy.

The three girls turned bright red, but obeyed.

While her sisters pathetically took to the training equipment, Valtor gestured for Raven to follow him. Oh boy. Raven knew where this was going. Nevertheless, she followed her teacher up into one of his dramatically gothic libraries. He sat on the floor and directed Raven to do the same.

Raven's lips automatically twisted into a deep frown. She knew what came next, but obeyed her mentor anyway. Sighing, she sat down cross-legged in front of him, keeping her frown. "I'm still not evil, you know," she informed, skipping straight to the point. Valtor was just like Raven's mother. They were both hellbent on turning Raven evil, though the two had their different ways of persuasion.

Though Raven had already made her point clear, Valtor kept calm. With a mere flick of his wrist, a few books levitated off one of the bookshelves and floated to them. "You only think that because you're young and inexperienced. Dark magic is far more than you think, Raven," he said knowingly, taking one of the tomes and opening it to a page. "You have more potential than you realize. You could manipulate minds, conquer realms. Defy all boundaries."

By "defy all boundaries", Valtor was probably referring to breaking the barrier around his castle. According to Raven's mom, it had taken an insane amount of magic to keep Valtor contained within his fortress. It was impossible for the dark wizard to use his own magic to free himself, so he needed someone else with a large reserve of power to break the bounding spell for him. And considering magic wasn't that easy to come by in this world, Valtor had to take what he could get. And in that case, the Queen Sisters. If he managed to teach them more black magic and help them grow strong in their abilities, he expected them to undo the spell containing him. There was no way Raven would free Valtor—he was where he was for a reason—but she couldn't say the same for her sisters.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Yeah, as 'cool' as that sounds, I'm not like you and Mom. I'm not exactly into that whole 'evil domination' thing."

"Oh, but aren't you? Dark magic is in your blood as well as mine. In fact, we _are_ dark magic. As you know, there are many more realms and dimensions that exist outside this one. There are tens of _thousands_ of dark arts wielders in each one. But there's a difference between us and them. What they cannot accomplish, we can perform without a second thought. Their dreams are little more than our reality." Valtor was grinning slyly.

Raven wasn't buying it. She folded her arms across her chest. "If we're so 'high and mighty'—" Raven made air quotes. "How come you haven't broken this containment curse yet? Since you're so 'powerful', countering spells should be a piece of cake, right?"

"Under normal circumstances. But the spell being used to imprison me is different." Once Valtor found the page he'd been looking for, he sent the book over to Raven.

Raven raised an eyebrow, but studied the page. The text written on it was written in an ancient language and the caption beside it was of a fiery dragon.

"Your mother and I were born from that dragon's fire," explained Valtor, "The Dragon's Mighty Flame. That fire is the father of all magic, the most powerful energy in all of existence. Being the source of life, the Dragon's essence exists on each and every planet, including this one. That is why the human race is able to dwell on Earth. But where there is Life there is also Death. We were created from Death, the dark side of the Flame. Thus, the Life side of the Fire is our opposite. Our only weakness. Hence, the curse that inflicts frustration on me is made entirely from the Great Flame's good side, the only thing we cannot manipulate with our magic."

"Then me being evil is basically pointless," insisted Raven strongly, "I inherited dark magic from Mom, meaning my magic's also from the Dragon Fire's dark side. Same with my sisters. None of us will be able to undo your curse."

"That's not entirely true. Your mother and I were purely created from the Flame's dark side. We _are_ its dark side made flesh. You and your sisters, on the other hand, weren't born the way we were. Some of the Flame's Life is inside you as well. How else do you think you are able to teleport here? Your magic can penetrate my barrier. If you were entirely dark magic, your attempts to reach me would've been repelled."

Raven pressed her lips together. He had a point. But still—

"I don't care. I'm not evil and never will be," she said firmly, "I'm not walking down that path. _Ever_."

"We'll see. You have a lot of potential, Raven. You just have to realize it. Once you do, it'll be easy for to embrace your inner darkness."

Raven clenched a fist. She was tired of that word. _Evil._ Why couldn't anyone just accept she didn't want to be evil? Just because she was born with dark magic didn't mean she had to be!

Raven's anger started to flood through her body. It wasn't fair! Why did she have to be reminded of this every stinking second? Purple sparks of magic started to flicker from her body. Oh no! What was happening?

The sensation coursing through Raven was overwhelming. It was so… _powerful_! And she didn't know how to control it! She started to panic as her magic rushed through her body, filling her with all kinds of emotions. She felt like she was about to burst!

"I-I can't control it!" she panicked, desperately looking toward her teacher for help. "I think I'm gonna—" Next thing Raven knew she was releasing all her tension. Her magic burst from her fingertips like a firework directly at Valtor. Raven yelped as her power snaked at Valtor. However, the wizard seemed unfazed. He simply held up a hand and absorbed Raven's magic in his palm.

Numb yet relieved, Raven dropped onto her knees, taking a deep breath. "Whoa," was all she could say.

"As I was going to say earlier. Your magic grows as you do. Yet, you suppress it. You try to push it aside like it isn't there. You _ignore_ it. As one born of the dark arts, that is not healthy nor is it necessary. Your powers are going to come out regardless of how much you try to hold them back. So why not explore your capabilities and embrace them to the fullest?"

Raven thought things over for a moment. She couldn't avoid her magic forever. Maybe learning how to use it wouldn't be a bad thing. It wouldn't mean Raven was evil or anything. She'd just know how to control her impulses and powers better.

"Fine. But I'm _not_ evil," she clarified for the umpteenth time.

The corner of Valor's mouth curled into a sly smile. "We shall see. We shall see indeed."


	4. First Day Promises

**A/n: Still no word about Ever After High. It's safe to assume the book has closed on our favorite fairytale cast.** **Meanwhile, I've thought about bringing this story to a close many times (since I'm so bad at updating), but I will not. A little light needs to be shed upon both the Winx Club and Ever After High fandoms, so I will continue with the crossover.**

 **And, ya know, I really can't stress how sad it is that Mattel is probably going to kick EAH to the curb. For starters, they had the best quality dolls (the faces on the** _ **new**_ **dolls are just ew) and one of the best story plots. I have to say, Ever After High is one of the only cartoons I've watched for a few years straight and still has me hooked (can't say the same for Winx Club. That's why I'm not really bothered by the long wait for season 8). The story only got better and better as Mattel introduced more characters and got deeper and deeper into the conflict. What makes it even** _ **greater**_ **is that there are so many mini-plots evolving around the central one, ensuring you never get tired of the storyline.**

 **It** _ **really really**_ **sucks how EAH decided to just leave EAH hanging like this, especially after Dragon Games and Chapters 3 and 4. We all still have so many questions. Will the Wolves and Hoods ever get exposed? What's even their story? Will we ever find out who Apple's** _ **true**_ **true love is? Will Raven and Dexter** _ **actually**_ **become a couple? Will Duchess ever get her own story straightened out? Will she become softer or more desperate as the story continues? What about Apple and her story? How does she feel now that she knows Daring, the prince she thought would be hers for all of her life, isn't actually her true love, but Rosabella's instead? Is she jealous? Confused? Upset? Oh, and let's not forget our wicked fairy, Faybelle. She's wicked to the bone, so what kind of chaos is she going to brew next? See! Even after four—let's say three since nothing's came out this year—years, there's** _ **still**_ **so much we don't know.**

 **Sadly, I think this is truly the end of EAH. But, I'd prefer it to be this way instead of a reboot like Monster High. By the way, I was** _ **totally**_ **looking forward to the MH/EAH crossover movie (even though I outgrew Monster High a really long time ago). I mean, I know there's that crossover book coming out on my birthday, October 17** **th** **, but that won't be the same.**

 **Well, anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it! I got big things planned for this story. Read on, reader! As long as we stick together, there's hope for the fandom yet.**

 **By the way, Sally and Stacey are Winx Club comic characters. I don't own them.**

* * *

 **Raven**

Raven had never really been one to make a big deal about the first day of school, but for some reason she was extra jittery this year. It'd felt like her stomach had been doing summersaults the whole night, and things didn't get better when she woke up to her chiming alarm clock at six the next morning. She couldn't help it—she just felt…uneasy. Today was her first day at a new school. She'd be the new girl amongst multitudes of people she didn't know. The typical, lost new girl. The loner.

Nevertheless, Raven had no choice but to drag herself out of bed. Her sisters always liked to sleep in until the last second, so the house was quiet. Deciding to use the silence as an opportunity to clear her mind, she gathered up her things and slipped into her bathroom, her mind racing. She didn't even understand what was wrong with her. Up until now, Raven had never once gotten this flustered over school. So why this year? That _so_ wasn't like her.

After freshening up and washing her face, Raven changed into her favorite black music note-printed tee, circular and bright purple dance skirt, and thick-heeled ankle boots. She parted her hair in the front into two parts and tied them into a single braid in the back, her signature hairstyle. Lastly came her makeup, which only took her exactly two minutes to do (when your beauty-obsessed mom ran her own cosmetic empire, you couldn't help but be a master in the art of quick application). Having been blessed with her mother's naturally glowing skin, Raven didn't wear that much makeup—just her favorite purple lip gloss and amethyst-hued eyeshadow. She liked giving her shadow a winged effect _around_ her eyes instead of the lids, just for originality. She finished up by spritzing herself with a bit of lavender and then padded out of the bathroom. Apparently, her sisters were up and in full effect because they were both bickering about something in Icy's room. Ignoring them, Raven made her way downstairs. Her dad had left for work about an hour ago, so all was peaceful (for the most part). Thankful for this, Raven made herself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the counter.

Her mind wandered all over the place as she munched on her Frosted Flakes, her anxiety rekindling. She just felt like today was going to be…. _different._ Like something big was going to happen.

"Namaste, darling!"

Raven looked up to see Mrs. Queen appearing in the kitchen, dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a black racerback tank top, her dark hair pulled up in a high and stretchy ponytail. From the looks of it, she was about to head out for her biweekly yoga class. Although Mrs. Queen was ultra feminine in every possible aspect, she strongly believed in exercising. "A sorceress's magic can only be as strong as her body and mind," she'd once explained, "if her body is weak, so are her powers, which will soon start to fade away." Although her powers had _already_ faded away, it wasn't like Mrs. Queen to break a habit.

"Hey, Mom. You look awfully happy today." _That_ was something to be cautious of. Ex-Evil Queens like Mrs. Queen were _never_ happy unless they'd either severely screwed somebody over, or got a new French manicure.

"And you look awfully _grim_ ," countered Mrs. Queen, putting her hands on her hips. "Why so down, songbird? It's the first day of school. You should be happy. You have a whole new year of dominating, trumping, and outshining ahead of you." Oh boy. Raven had nearly forgotten about Mrs. Queen and her typical over-the-top expectations.

Raven swallowed. "I'm a little nervous," she admitted, "I know this might sound weird because I've never been like this before, but—"

"Don't worry, darling. It's completely normal for every dark princess to feel a little unsure of her capabilities every now and then," insisted Mrs. Queen, "it's all part of growing up. At one point of everyone's life, they feel a little insecure about themselves, _especially_ the ones with the most potential. Even _I_ felt that way when I was your age. Shocking, I know, but look at me now. I've given birth to four children yet I'm more beautiful than most women _half_ my age _and_ I've conquered a fair amount of kingdoms in my day. Overcoming a lack of confidence is the key step to proceeding down the road to success. Once you realize just how stunning you really are, _nothing_ will hold you back. You're a smart girl, Raven. Once you realize exactly what you're capable of, you'll leave everyone behind in your dust. It's your _destiny_."

Raven cracked a faint smile. Her mother might've been an overly ambitious ex-queen/conqueror of worlds, but she occasionally gave good advice. _Occasionally._ "Thanks, Mom. But that's not what I'm worried about. I think I'm just worried about fitting in, making friends." At Raven's old schools, she'd always been the outsider. Not a lot of people had ever bothered talking to her—almost like it was a curse to be around her. At one point, she had actually managed to make a friend or two but then the _accident_ happened and the rumors of witchcraft began to spread. Then everyone at school _really_ snubbed her like she actually _could_ curse them. Raven never trusted herself around others after that.

"Darling, did you even look at yourself in the mirror this morning? You're a splitting image of me. _Stunning._ You won't have to worry about making friends, because your beauty will make them for you. I don't think you've realized, but you have a regal air about you. You might not think so, but you are a natural-born leader. It's in your blood. Be confident and people will be drawn to you. And if they still chose to ignore you, make their lives miserable until they change their mind."

Raven grinned and gave her mother an eye roll. "Thanks Mom, but I'm not cursing anyone. That's not my style."

Mrs. Queen shrugged. "Suit yourself, but you never know when a good spell might come in handy. You'll learn someday. Well, I'm off. Have a nice first day, my little blackbird."

"Bye," called Raven as Mrs. Queen disappeared through the garage door. Maybe her mom was right—about the confidence part, not black magic. At her old school, Raven never made friends until she convinced herself that she could. For the longest, she'd been afraid to be around people in fear she'd expose her secret and freak everyone out. That insecurity had plagued her until she managed to push it away. But after the _accident,_ Raven took two steps backward and reverted to being Outsider Raven. Well, not this year.

Raven gulped down her sweet milk with newfound determination. This was the beginning of a new year at a new school. Raven had a clean slate and she was going to cease that opportunity to make a fresh start.

She told herself this over and over as she waited for her sisters to get done glamorizing themselves. The more she said it, the more she believed it, the more she wanted to make it happen. This was her life after all. She wasn't going to waste it in fear of _herself._ Life was way too short for that.

"What's got you so happy?" asked Icy as they walked into the four-car garage. Mrs. Queen's new BMW and Mr. Queen's SUV were missing, leaving the shiny red Audi Icy and Darcy shared and the silver Lexus Stormy and Raven co-owned.

Raven shrugged. "I guess I'm just excited."

Stormy rolled her eyes. "That's so seventh grade. No one gets excited about school anymore."

"You do when you've been living in a closet for the past five years," smirked Darcy.

"Ha ha. Very funny. So who's driving?" asked Raven as they gathered around the Audi. It was a rule that they all commuted to school together with either Icy or Darcy driving.

Icy groaned loudly. "Darcy's." Raven and Stormy groaned as well.

"Oh, give me a break. You're acting like it's a sin to ride with me," yawned Darcy, getting into the front seat.

"It might as well be," insisted Icy, claiming shotgun while Stormy and Raven climbed into the backseat.

As they backed out of the garage, Raven noticed the Swan Girl next door walking down her front steps in high-heeled boots and a pair of slim-cut jeans that fit her slim dancer's body perfectly. She was probably on her way to school too. Swan Girl looked over, her eyes meeting Raven's. Raven gave her a tiny wave, but the Swan Girl just sneered in return. O-kay, so she still wasn't over the swan thing yet.

Before pulling out of the driveway, Darcy took off her glasses and checked her hair in the vanity mirror.

"We're just going to school, Darcy. Not a party," reminded Raven.

"Though I'd really prefer the latter," mumbled Icy.

After Darcy took a good three minutes fixing her hair, they finally hit the road. It wasn't until they turned off their street Raven remembered something: Riding in the car with Darcy behind the wheel was like roller-skating in a busy street blindfolded—a death wish. They didn't even make it two miles before Darcy started drifting out of the correct lane.

"Watch out for the pedestrian," snapped Icy.

"I see her," said Darcy, her voice laced with annoyance as she swerved her Audi back into the lane.

"I can't tell," countered Icy, "watch the—"

"I see it too, Icy," growled Darcy, straightening the car back up before she veered off onto the curb again. She suddenly slammed the brake, just barely stopping at a red light and throwing everyone against their seatbelts.

"Note to self: starting tomorrow, walk to school," announced Raven with a groan.

"Or better yet, let _me_ drive," said Icy, shooting a glare at Darcy. "Are you _trying_ to kill us?"

"Yeah, because Darcy can't keep a car straight even if her life depended on it," snorted Stormy, not looking up from her phone.

"Like your driving is any better," countered Darcy, "my driving is fine. It's not that hard. Mom can drive while putting on makeup."

"Mom can do _anything_ while putting on makeup," corrected Raven.

The rest of the car trip went on like that; Darcy nearly running something over few minutes and Icy and Stormy distracting her with their complaining. Meanwhile, Raven just stayed quiet and hoped they'd make it to school in one piece.

She breathed out a sigh of relief when they entered the school zone. They were almost there. Maybe she'd have a first day of junior year after all. Darcy turned into the turning lane behind a line of cars, thankfully remembering to turn on her right blinker. Raven glanced out of her window at Elizabeth Victory high school, the lengthy brick high school that spanned the parking lot they were about to turn into. The lot was bustling with people and a line of parking was parked in front of the school, releasing multitudes of students.

Darcy turned sharply into the lot, throwing everyone against their seatbelts. She gunned into the first free parking spot she saw. "There. That wasn't so bad, now was it?" The others were too busy leaping out of the car to answer.

Raven inhaled the fresh morning air as a Jeep full of jocks drove past. Well, here she was. From this point on, she'd leave Old Raven behind for the better.

"Just for the record, I'm not going home with you three," Icy reminded Darcy, slinging her enormous Louis Vuitton bag over her shoulder as they clicked across the asphalt in their heels.

"Why? Where are you going?" demanded Stormy.

Icy rolled her eyes. "None of your busin—hey, what's going on over there?" She pointed to a thick crowd of students gathered not far from them.

Curious, the girls strayed off course and wandered over. As they got closer, Raven could see some of the students pointing their phones at something, all of them talking at once.

"What's going on?" wondered aloud Raven. She got her answer a few seconds later.

Parked in the spot with a "reserved for the principal" sign was a Mercedes—at least Raven thought that was what it was. It was hard to make out the car when the whole thing was wrapped up in thick layers of plastic wrap. Whoever had pulled off the stunt had even spray-painted a few silly, insulting, and outright offensive notes on the plastic in bright red. One of the notes said "Let the Prank Fest begin".

Raven's sisters snickered and she stifled a laugh. "Whoa. I wonder who was bold enough to do _this_ ," she said.

"You mean you don't know?" A wavy-curly platinum-white blond with gentle features—Raven recognized her to be Dexter's sister from Starbucks—raised an eyebrow, appearing beside her.

Raven shook her head. "Nope. Total new girl."

"Gotcha. Well, something like this happens every year here at Victory," explained the girl with a nod, "our school has a student—or _students_ whose mission is to pull off various pranks on the student body and faculty. They do things like this all year around, but they're especially unrelenting during the first week of school."

"So I'm guessing that's what 'the Prank Fest' is?"

"Yeah. No one knows who the mastermind is. Everyone calls him, her, or they 'The Phantom Menace.'"

"You mean like the movie?"

"No has ever caught the prankster or pranksters in the act. They manage to pull off everything without being seen, almost like they're invisible."

"So you're telling me a _ghost_ did this? Seems highly unlikely to me," said Raven.

"Tell me about it. But some people actually believe so. There's this so-called 'legend' about a girl who died inside the school in the mid eighteen hundreds when the school was first built. Some students claim the girl returned from the dead as a spirit to haunt the school."

"Not to burst anyone's bubble, but something tells me pranking someone's car doesn't count as haunting," chuckled Raven.

Before the girl could make a remark, the sea of students suddenly parted as a voice grunted, "out of my way" or "step aside." A stern-looking, graying man in a crisp black suit stormed through the crowd, looking _really_ ticked off.

"I'm guessing that's the principal," whispered Raven.

"How do you figure?" the girl joked in return.

"Who is responsible for this?" the principal demanded. He scanned the crowd, his eyes blazing.

All the other students started talking at once. "Who else? It was The Menace," someone insisted at the same time someone else was saying, "Probably just some dumb freshman."

The principal gritted his teeth. "When I find out whoever did this rest assure there _will_ be consequences. Don't think you're getting away with this."

"Trust me. Whoever did already has," said the girl as the principal started to shoo everyone away. "And it only gets worse from here." Raven's sisters had already disappeared so the two started toward the school together. "And since you're the new girl, I'll give you a warning," said the platinum blond as they climbed the front steps, "if you want to avoid becoming a victim of Prank Fest, I suggest you only eat things from the vending machines, don't use the last stall or the fifth sink to the right in the downstairs' girls' restroom, don't stay in the locker room by yourself, and _definitely_ stay away from the equipment in the field house. That's always how the newbies get pranked."

"Whoa. You really know what you're talking about," said Raven as they stepped into the wide brick-walled entrance hall, greeted by a cheesy welcoming banner that hung across the trophy cases.

"When you've been attending the same school for three years straight, you learn a few things."

"So you're a junior, huh? Same here. I'm Raven, by the way."

"Darling." The girl offered Raven her hand and they shook. "Welcome to Victory, Raven. Maybe I'll see you around sometimes?"

Raven couldn't believe her luck. School hadn't even started yet and she _already_ had a new friend. She smiled at Darling. "Definitely."

 **OoO**

Now, if only navigating the school was that easy. Victory was way bigger than Raven's old school, so she got lost almost the second she split up with Darling.

But finally, after a couple of wrong turns and three flights of stairs later, Raven found her homeroom not long after the warning bell sounded. She burst inside to find that the classroom was only halfway full. Good. At least she wasn't late on her first day.

Raven took a seat at the window behind a tall girl in a red hoodie. She glanced outside at the parking lot below. From high up, the principal's car especially stuck out. And speaking of the principal, he was still out there trying to peel the plastic off his car. Poor guy. Raven wondered if "The Phantom Menace" would continue to target him for the rest of Prank Fest.

A pale girl with cyan-streaked platinum blond hair piled up atop her head in a bun came into the room next. She sat down in front of Hoodie Girl and looked out of the window too. "How cliché," she spat, clicking her tongue and dropping her sequenced duffel bag at her feet. "A car prank on the _principal_? I could've come up with something way better in my _sleep_."

The fair-skinned girl with long black hair and glasses who sat on the other side of the room snorted. "Maybe it was _you_ who did it in the first place, Faybelle."

Raven could practically hear Cyan Streaks, Faybelle, rolling her eyes. " _Please._ You know I wouldn't waste my time on your dad _or_ you, Mitzi. You're not worth my time. I have _way_ more important things to do. Like leading the varsity cheer squad, for instance."

"Mitzi" scowled at Faybelle. "Whatever. Being captain of the team doesn't make you above anything. You'd _still_ do something like that." Whoa. Jealous much?

"And you'd do even _worse_ even though you're _not_ captain," countered Faybelle, "what's your point?"

"Last time I checked, _I'm_ the principal's daughter," spat Mitzi, throwing her shiny hair over her shoulder. "That trumps your pointless little title. Don't deceive yourself even for a second."

"Says the girl who's _still_ desperately trying to steal my position," said Faybelle sarcastically.

"You and I both know you don't deserve it," growled Mitzi.

"Oh, and you do? Sorry Mits, but you couldn't lead a dog on a leash," said Faybelle coolly before finally turning her attention to her phone.

Oh boy. So these two were rivals through and through. From the sounds of it, Mitzi was the stereotypically snobby mean girl. Raven made note to stay away from her. She knew what kinds of drama girls like her were capable of.

Homeroom eventually filled up and Ms. Dongoski started taking attendance. She went in alphabetical order by first name. Raven paid close attention as she called upon her classmates, familiarizing herself with their names.

"Ramona?" called Ms. Dongoski toward the end of the list, looking up from her sheet and glancing around the room. Raven's eyes landed on the empty seat beside the Hoodie Girl, Cerise. Ms. Dongoski shrugged and went on. "Raven?"

"Pres—"

Before Raven could finish, the door swung open and in walked a girl in gray sweats, thick dark brown, burgundy, and white hair flowing out from underneath her navy-blue beanie. Her lips were bold red and steels eyes even more imposing than her scowl.

"Ramona?" inquired Ms. Dongoski.

"Obviously," grumbled Ramona, her voice deep and husky as she plopped down into the only empty seat with her hands shoved into the pockets of her baggy sweatshirt.

Cerise shot a glare at Ramona as the teacher finished up attendance. "What's wrong with you? You were nearly late on the _first_ day," she whispered thinly.

"So? I didn't miss anything," insisted Ramona, leaning back in her chair and propping her legs up on her desk.

Cerise growled at her but before turning her attention back to the window. Raven studied both of them closely. She received a mysterious vibe from them both, but in a good way. She couldn't describe it. There was just something…different about them both. She also meant that in a good way.

Maybe there was more to them than meets the eye.

OoO

Physics was so booooring. Raven was just about ready to pull her hair out.

The second the lunch bell sounded, Raven along with her classmates jumped to their feet and flooded out into the hall with renewed anticipation. Masses of other hungry students flowed out of their classrooms and merged with the foot traffic, reenergized by the prospect of socializing and making friends during lunch period.

The cafeteria, like most, smelt like ketchup, onions, meatloaf, Chanel, gossip, and was buzzing with activity. Sign-up booths were set up by the soda machines, kids were laughing and talking amongst each other at the tables, and bold kids in the lunch line were cringing at the food options, which by the looks of their faces, weren't that appealing.

Raven heeded Darling's advice and stayed away from the hot food. Instead, she bought a fruit cup, a muffin, a Kit Kat, and moved on to the table. Inhaling the meatloaf-and-perfume smells, her eyes drifted around the space for Stormy. It wasn't hard locating her storm-cloud hair. She was seated at the table with her own friends, doing her own thing. As seniors, Darcy and Icy didn't have lunch period until later but they probably already their own friends to sit with.

Sitting with Stormy was out of the question, so Raven scanned the cafeteria for Darling. Her heart fell when she couldn't find her. But alas, just when she thought all hope was lost, she spotted a girl sitting by herself at one of the tables in the corner. The looks of her just screamed lonely new girl, which meant she and Raven were in the same boat. With hope sparking inside her, Raven ambled over to the near-empty section of the cafeteria. "Hi, can I sit here?" she asked politely.

The girl looked up from her food. "Uh, sure," she said shyly before looking back down at her lunch tray.

Raven grinned. Aww. She was so sweet. "Thanks," she said, sitting down on the stool right across from the girl's. "I'm Raven Queen by the way."

"Cedar Wood."

Raven observed her. Cedar was a dark-skinned girl with matching kinky hair and wondrous brown eyes. She was dressed in a size-too-big pair of dark Levi's and a long-sleeved cashmere turtle-neck sweater. Hmm. Wasn't it a bit too warm out for that? Eh, maybe she just cold or had a skin problem.

"I'm here so I didn't really have anywhere to sit," said Raven, aiming to spark a new conversation.

"Yeah. Same here." Cedar looked up and smiled timidly. "I've been homeschooled since—"She was cut off as a group of _six_ girls in mid-conversation suddenly appeared out of nowhere and packed together at their table. Thus, Raven found herself sided by a stylishly edgy girl with a short half-purple half auburn-strawberry blond haircut and a pale girl with wavy, bright-pink-light-pink hair and blue eyes whose lids were decorated with a generous swish of pink eyeshadow.

Cedar, unlike Raven, looked relived. "I thought you guys forgot about me," she admitted.

"We'd never do that, especially on your first day," promised the redhead in baby blue, side-hugging Cedar.

The blond beside the redhead gagged at Cedar's tray. "Ugh, meatloaf? Seriously, Cedar? You actually took your chances with the hot meals?"

Cedar shrugged. "What? I like it. I don't care if it could be potentially laced with Tabasco or something."

All the girls were talking at once, making Raven feel violated and somewhat left out. Though they were both new girls, Cedar seemed to have way more friends than Raven. One of the girls happened to be Faybelle from homeroom. She stared at Raven. "Aren't you in my homeroom?"

All eyes landed on Raven as if they just noticed her. "I'm Raven," she said strongly, a smile tugging at her lips. "And I'm new here."

The redhead's eyes twinkled. "Just like Cedar. New girls gotta stick together, right? Anyway, I'm Bloom Domino." She pointed at the stylish blond who smelt like Chanel No.5. "That's Stella Solaria."

"Heyyy," trilled the blond, flipping her locks over her shoulder.

Bloom gestured toward the short-haired girl beside then Raven and then at the long-haired one on the other side of Cedar. They both looked nearly identical with the same aqua-green-blue eyes and strawberry blond-auburn hair. "Poppy and Holly O'Hair, the twins."Bloom pointed at Faybelle. "You already know Faybelle Thorn." Faybelle, who was texting on her smartphone, muttered something under her breath.

"Holly O'Hair, writer and blogger," piped up the long-haired one.

"Poppy O'Hair, hair stylist and artist," added the short-haired one.

"And last but certainly not least," singsonged Stella, "Chariclo Arganthone Cassavetes. That's a mouthful, right? When I first met her, it took me a month and a half to finally pronounce her name right."

The pink-haired girl gave a laugh. "The struggles of being half-Greek," she joked. And then to Raven she said, "You can just call me by my nickname, Cupid."

"Because she's an expert at all things love," said Stella, "and she's Greek, so it fits."

"Actually, Stella, Cupid is _Roman._ _Eros_ is Greek," reminded Cupid in a voice that indicated this wasn't the first time she was explaining this to the blond.

Stella shrugged. "Same thing."

"So, Raven? Are you new in town?" asked Bloom with interest.

Raven nodded, peeling the soft lid off her fruit cup. "Yeah. We moved over the summer from Connecticut. I don't live far from here."

"Sweet. Maybe you'd like to hang out sometimes?" offered Poppy, "we'd love to get to know you."

Raven's heart swelled. "Uh, yeah. I'd like to get to know you guys too."

She couldn't believe this. This was only her first day and she _already_ knew so many people. She was glad she followed her mother's advice— _not_ the part about the curse. All she needed to do was be confident in herself. And look where that got her!

She grinned to herself. She was more than sure the friendships she started today were going to be amazing and that this was going to be a great year.

 _Her_ year.

* * *

 **Roxy**

It was lunchtime as Elizabeth Victory High and Roxy was seated by herself in the busy cafeteria, tearing open a brownie. She was only halfway through junior year, but was _already_ exhausted. She'd barely gotten any sleep last night because she'd stayed at the juice bar late with her dad and it didn't help that her class list had her dashing all over the school. When she got home, she was going to hit the hay after he fed Artu and the cats.

As she munched on her stale brownie, her eyes caught a flash of strawberry-blond. She craned her neck to spot Manuel across the room, goofing off with his friends at their own table. She sat up straightened, suddenly very awake. At first, she didn't think he attended this school since she hadn't seen him all morning, but there he was sitting in the same room as him. Her eyes drifted to the empty seat beside him. She didn't know why; she'd never dare to seize it. She wasn't _that_ bold. At least now yet. For now, she was just going to crush on him from a safe distance.

"Caught you staring," singsonged a sudden voice.

Roxy whirled around in her seat to see a fair-skinned girl with curly high pigtails sitting across from her, grinning ear-to-ear.

Roxy felt herself becoming self-conscious. "Uh, I wasn't staring," she lied quickly, "I was just—"

The girl raised a hand, indicating silence. "Please. Your eyes were eating Manuel up," she purred, her maroon smile growing bigger and her cat-like eyes gleaming with mischief.

"No, I—wait. You know him?" A slight wave of jealousy washed over Roxy.

" _Duh."_ The girl yawned widely, tapping her long blue nails on the table. "We've both been going to this school since freshman year. _Of course_ I know him."

"Wait. He's been coming here this ninth grade?" asked Roxy in disbelief, "that can't be right. I have too but I've never seen him around until now."

"Maybe because you haven't bothered to notice him until now," the girl pointed out, opening her bag of Doritos. "And from the way you're gawking at him, I'd say you think he's the cat's _meow_." _Meow_ rolled off her tongue so perfectly, it really sounded like a cat's.

"It's not that. It's just….I don't know," admitted Roxy, allowing her shoulders to drop. "I guess he _is_ kind of cute."

"Good luck with that one. He's as hopeless as they come."

A tiny spark of disappointment tugged at Roxy's heart. Aiming to get out of the Manuel subject before things got awkward, she decided to introduce herself. "I'm Roxy Quinn. I'm a junior."

"Katherine. Katherine Cheshire. I have this other friend named Catherine, so everyone just calls me by my nickname, Kitty. I'm a junior too."

Roxy smiled. "Maybe we have some classes together."

"I doubt it." Suddenly, Kitty brightened up. "Hey, did you see what The Menace did to Mr. Carmichael's car this morning? That guy is really a genius."

Roxy shrugged. "I've heard some people say that prank's generic."

Kitty's smile dropped instantly. _"Generic?"_ she shrieked, insulted. "No one's ever had the gut to do prank Carmichael like that before. Now when someone finally does it, it's _generic_?"

Roxy raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so worked up about it? It almost sounds like _you_ pulled it off."

Kitty made a "pffft" sound. "I wish. But I can't take credit for that, unfortunately."

"Not really. If the principal knew you ruined his car, you'd be out of here within an hour." Roxy tore open another brownie. She along with half of the school had no choice but to live off the vending machine until Prank Fest was over. It was that or risk eating the cafeteria food, which _always_ got sabotaged during Prank Fest. Last year, The Menace somehow squirted a few _dozen_ bottles Tabasco into the lasagna.

"Whatever. No one's scared of him anyway. He's just all talk like his daughter."

At the mention of Mitzi Carmichael, Roxy's eyes happened to cut to the center of the cafeteria, where the popular kids sat at their table. It was considered an honor to sit there in the middle of the room, in the middle of all the action.

Mitzi, who was the vicious ringleader of the clique due to her father's position, sat among her mindless lackeys Sally Doughty and Stacey Williams-John, a few jocks like Daring C. and Garret Thompson, a couple of seniors, the student council president Apple White, and some of their friends. Everyone knew them as _the_ clique. They were the kids who knew everything, heard everything. They were the kind you were either with or against.

"Forget the principal's car. I would've gone for them," continued Kitty, nibbling on a chip. "Specifically Mitzi. Forget her dad. Out of everyone, _she's_ the one who should go down the most.

"Not a fan?" Roxy balled up her plastic wrappers.

"Far from it. Most people aren't, but they just don't show it because they're scared of her. You've heard about what she can do. She thinks she's so great just because she can ruin people's lives." Kitty grinned. "But that doesn't make her invincible. Our dearest Miss Popularity has some secrets of her own. And if I was her, I'd watch my back. She isn't the only one with power. This year, somebody else is going to be pulling the strings."

Roxy glanced back over at the popular clique. She knew lots of people who hated them, but barely anyone stood their ground against them. It was too big of a risk.

"I doubt it," she said, shaking her head. "You can't just push around people like her. Unless you have some dirt on her. _Do you_ , Kitty? Kitty?" Raven turned back around to face Kitty. Except there was one problem.

Kitty was already gone.

 **OoO**

After school, Roxy stuffed her things into her locker from last year. Thankfully, the rest of her classes had gone by pretty quickly and now Roxy was more than ready to head home. She was about to head for the parking lot, but froze when she spotted Manuel and his friends proceeding down the hall. Her whole body refused to move. Not when Manuel was around.

"Caught you staring," sung a voice. Roxy slammed her locker shut, turning around to see a blond girl with amber eyes smirking at her. she wore a loose white blouse, tight-fitting red pants, and matching wedged sandals. Roxy sighed. Okay, there was no way she was being _that_ obvious. If everyone else could tell she was crushing, why couldn't Manuel? Did that mean he wasn't into her?

She gave her combination a spin, giving another sad sigh. "Yeah. But I don't think he likes me back," she said gloomily, watching as Manuel disappeared around the corner with his buddies.

"Manuel? He's a good guy and all, but he's kind of dumb sometimes," insisted the blond with a yawn.

Roxy felt herself getting jealous again. How did all these girls know Manuel already? What if he was a womanizer or something? That'd just make Roxy even sadder to know he had hit on everyone _but_ her.

The blond probably noticed how panicked Roxy looked, because she rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not into him. If he's ever been into me, I haven't noticed." She flipped her blond hair over her shoulder. "He knows better than to waste my time. I'm Diaspro, by the way."

Roxy calmed herself. "I'm Roxy." She studied Diaspro closely. She looked like one of those models you'd see on the cover of _Teen Vogue_ with a slim yet curvy figure and glowing skin. But apart from that, something was familiar about her. "Have I seen you somewhere before? It feels like I have…"

Diaspro looked pleased to be receiving recognition. "My dad's running for senate this year. The news interviews us a lot, so _everyone's_ probably seen my face by now. "But enough about me. You have a huge crush on Manuel, right? Well, I can help with that."

Roxy was taken aback. "Huh?"

"A guy like that won't stay on the market for long and I know how _devastating_ it can be for the guy you love to be taken away from you. I'd just hate for something like that to happen to you so I'm going to help you get the guy of your dreams. But, I _do_ ask for one thing in return."

"What that's?"

Diaspro grinned. "Your friendship."

Something inside Roxy warmed. Aww. Diaspro was so sweet and selfless. Roxy had never met someone so friendly and nice. She smiled back. "Of course."

Diaspro clapped her hands together. "Great!" Something in her pocket gave a loud buzz. "That's probably my dad," explained Diaspro, taking out her phone. "I gotta go but we can hang out sometimes, right?"

Still beaming, Roxy nodded. "Right. I'll see you tomorrow, Diaspro." She watched as the blond disappeared down the hall. She sighed happily. She did NOT expect such good fortune today. She'd already made two friends and there was a chance she was going to end with Manuel after all. Roxy couldn't be more—

"I'd stay clear of her if I was you." Roxy spun around to see Kitty leaning against the wall of lockers, her arms folded across her chest and a grin still plastered to her face.

"Oh. Hey, Kitty," said Roxy cheerfully, not bothered by the fact Kitty had been watching them or just appeared out of thin air. "What's up?"

"Diaspro's not who you think she is," said Kitty matter-of-factly, observing her blue razor-sharp nails. "That girl is as unpredictable and vile as they come. She'll act all buddy-buddy with you to gain you trust, then she'll _use_ you like a personal minion. Trust me, I've seen her sucker girls like you every year. Though it never ceases to amuse me, I thought I'd just warn you in advance and save your poor little soul."

"Kitty, did you just admit you like me?" teased Roxy, starting down the hall.

Kitty followed. "Hardly. No matter who Diaspro manages to sucker, the story is always the same. Diaspro warms up to you, earns your trust _and_ your secrets, flips the script and shows her true colors once she has enough dirt, blackmails you into doing her bidding, and then ruins your life if you even speak one word against her. It's all always the same and it's getting a tad bit boring. I just gave you an early warning to see it'll change how things play out this year."

Roxy laughed. "Thanks, but I'm good. Diaspro isn't like that, I promise. She's actually really sweet and considerate. I've never had a friend like that before."

"Oh, trust me. I know. _No one's_ had a friend like Diaspro before." Kitty rolled her eyes. "And I mean that in a bad way. But whatevs. I spoke my piece. Catch you later. That is, while you're still around."

"Bye." Roxy gave Kitty a wave as they went their separate ways. That girl really was a character. Though Roxy had only known Diaspro for like…five minutes now, she knew the girl was nothing like the villainess Kitty described her to be. It was nice of Kitty to look out for Roxy, but what did she know anyway? She and Diaspro obviously weren't friends. She couldn't explain it, but she could just _feel_ that Diaspro was going to be a great friend. Maybe even her best one.

Roxy strolled out the school, grinning to himself. This was going to be a _fantastic_ year. She knew that for a fact.


	5. Second Day Doubts

**A/n: My just-for-fun fan fiction. I don't care if no one even reads or reviews this. Well, I know Sarah reads this. And that's enough for me, even though she's only one person. Thanks so much for your support, Sarah, and everyone else who's been reading! xoxoxo**

* * *

 **Raven**

Raven's sisters couldn't drive even if their lives depended on it.

During the countless times she'd ridden with them, she witnessed them almost-hit many things; street signs, pedestrians, sign spinners. But nothing, absolutely _nothing_ compared to what Icy almost rammed into when they pulled into the student parking lot the next morning.

"Horse!" shouted Raven just as Icy was about to pull into a space.

Icy immediately floored the brakes, making everyone fly against their seatbelts. Thankfully, the car stopped just in time, stopping halfway in the street, halfway in the parking space. The horse remained where it was, unfazed. "Someone _please_ explain why there's a horse in my parking space," growled Icy, laying the horn.

"There's a lot more where that came from," groaned Darcy, glancing out of the window. There were horses trotting all _over_ the parking lot, holding up cars and even school buses. The Menace was the first thing that came to Raven's mind. Setting horses free on school property was no doubt a part of Prank Fest.

The horse in front of the car refused to move, making Icy growl. "Move, you stupid beast!" she yelled, pressing on the horn repeatedly.

"Relax, Icy. Just park somewhere else," said Raven, her voice laced with slight annoyance. "It's not a big deal.

"Hell no. The only free spaces are the ones on the edge of the lot, which happen to be the _furthest_ from school, meaning we'd have to walk. These five-inch Christian Louboutins were _not_ made for that."

Raven and Stormy shared a suspicious glance. Those shoes were one of her better pair, and there was no way she put them on for school. No, she was wearing them for whatever she was going to do _after_ school. Neither of them knew where Icy had gone yesterday and Darcy knew she certainly wasn't spilling. And judging by the way Icy was dressed up today, she certainly wouldn't be coming home with them when school let out.

"Okay, so we'll have to walk. It's not like it's a mile," pointed out Raven." Icy still refused to budge the car. "Okay, whatever. Have fun with this one," she said, swinging her door open. Grabbing her purse, she slammed the door and started toward the school on foot. Her sisters were SOO dramatic. ..

But seriously, the horses were _everywhere_ on the front campus; idling in the parking lot, trotting slowly up the walkways, trying to eat from the short patches of grass. None of them seemed to notice (or care about) the students, who were filming and even petting them.

Raven was somewhat relived when she stepped into the school to find the halls horse-free, but she was immediately filled with horror at what greeted her instead. She froze the second she entered the lobby, her eyeballs dying on the spot.

Every wall was plastered with huge glittery pink posters of a beaming Mitzi Carmichael, a huge flashy font saying _VOTE FOR MISS MITZI!_ stretching across each one _._ Boy, Mitzi worked _fast_. She was taking her campaign seriously. Why wasn't Raven surprised?

Yesterday, during the first-day convocation in the auditorium, Mitzi got nominated to run for school council president (only by her two groupies Sally Doughty and Stacy Williams-John. You weren't allowed to nominate yourself so when the principal asked for nominations, Raven totally saw Mitzi whisper something into Stacey's ear and then after Stacey elected Mitzi, Sally seconded her nomination, making Mitzi an official nominee). Apart from Mitzi, only one other candidate was elected; a fellow junior and last year's student council president, Apple White. Although Raven had only completed one full school day at Victory, she could already tell Apple was well-loved among their peers and _especially_ among the teachers. She was in Raven's third period AP English Literature and Composition class and their teacher practically worshipped her. Not that Raven was bothered by that. Apple was actually pretty smart and nice— _too_ nice. And speaking of Apple White—

WHY THE HECK WAS SHE STALKING RAVEN?

After lunch and right before Raven's AP Music Theory class the day before, Apple had formally introduced herself. At the time, Raven hadn't been bothered, but then Apple started showing up everywhere in between the rest Raven's classes, always being super cheerful and asking Raven if she needed help with anything. Raven figured this was only because she was the new girl but she didn't see Apple bothering Icy, Stormy, or Darcy. Raven had been cool with Apple checking up on her at first, but now she was somewhat bothered by Apple's constant presence. She was _everywhere_ , no matter Raven was.

Even now, as Raven peeled a corny _VOTE FOR MISS MITZI!_ poster off her locker, she spotted Apple's swinging pale-blond ponytail as the girl rounded the corner and headed toward her, her blood-red lips curled up into a super friendly smile. She was an uber-beautiful girl with super pale skin and faint blue eyes that made her look innocent and pure. And then to add on to her good-girl appearance, Apple sported white knee-high socks, black Mary Jane platform pumps, a red floral-printed skirt that reached just above her knees, and a white t-shirt blouse. "Raven!" she called ecstatically, waving at her as she approached. As she neared, she caught the eye of every guy in the hall. That was the thing about Apple, as Raven had quickly realized. She was the kind of girl you couldn't help _but_ look at.

She was the girl everyone found irresistible and charming. She was the girl who got _all_ the attention, even when she wasn't trying to. Whenever she spoke, people listened. Whenever she asked someone to do something for her, they did it without a second thought. That was the Apple Effect, as Raven was now calling the phenomenon.

Raven put on her best fake smile. "Apple! Hi!" she said, trying hard to sound just as energetic. "Uh, what's up? Congratulations for being nominated, by the way."

"Thanks! I just wanted to see how our new student is doing," said Apple in her high-pitched voice Raven was starting to find annoying, "have you memorized your class schedule? Do you know where everything is?"

"Yeah," lied Raven, although she'd gotten lost on her way to U.S. history yesterday. "I have everything figured out."

"I'm glad to hear that. Just remember, if you ever need help with anything—"

"You're here to help. I know, I know," said Raven, forcing a light laugh. She waited until Apple disappeared down the hall to drop her smile and sigh in relief. That girl was _persistent._

"Don't worry. She'll leave you alone in a week or two," said a voice. Raven turned to see Darling standing beside her, the corners of her lips tugging up into a small smirk.

"Darling! I looked all over for you yesterday," said Raven, immediately forgetting all about Apple. "I didn't see you at lunch."

"Yeah. I usually eat outside during Prank Fest," said Darling, leaning against the wall of lockers. "I don't risk it. But it looks like I'll be indoors today; the courtyard, like most of the school grounds, is covered in horse waste."

"Great. Then we can all sit together." Honestly, Raven wanted to get to know Dexter just as much as his sister. They both seemed pretty cool.

Darling winked at Raven before heading in the opposite direction. "Sure thing. See you then, friend."

 **~o~**

Raven made it to homeroom a little early. Not a lot of students were there, not even the teacher.

She took her seat at the window behind Cerise, who sported a pair of skinny jeans and the same red hoodie from yesterday. "Hey, Cerise." Raven gave the quiet girl a smile.

Cerise looked startled for a moment, but managed a small smile in return. "Hey." She pulled her hood lower over her face and immediately turned away.

At the same moment, Faybelle and Stella came sauntering into the room in a mist of lavender, sporting matching cheerleader high ponytails and sequenced bags. "Hey, guys," said Raven cheerfully. Having sat with them, Bloom, Cedar, and the O'Hair Twins during the assembly the previous day, Raven was way more comfortable around them, plus she'd gotten the chance to learn a little bit more about the each of them:

Cedar was the most gentle and honest, and was extremely creative like Bloom and Poppy. Stella was the brightest and most humorous, Cupid was the dreamiest and soft-spoken, Poppy was edgier and cooler, Bloom was caring and obviously the leader, a good and supportive one, and Holly was the talkative type and loved to read and write. Plus, she was _really_ good at hangman. All together, they were a good crowd, a crowd Raven wanted to become a part of.

"Hey, Rave," giggled Stella, giving Raven a nudge before sitting behind Ramona, who was actually on time today.

At the same moment, Mitzi was walking in. At first, Raven didn't recognize her since she didn't have her glasses on. "Vote for Miss Mitzi Carmichael," she hummed, going around and slapping a promotional poster on every desk.

Faybelle gave a snort of disgust after receiving hers. "Seriously? _This_ is the best you can do?" she asked with an eye roll, holding up the glamorized headshot of glasses-less Mitzi. "Isn't this a bit much?"

"Yeah. You already have like…two million of these throughout the rest of the school," said Stella, showing the same level distaste.

"This is overkill," agreed Ramona blandly, balling her poster up into a ball. "You should just stop while you're ahead, Carmichael. You don't have a chance, with or without photocopies of your ugly mug."

"Tch, whatever. You all are just jealous," insisted Mitzi haughtily, sitting down in her seat and crossing her legs. "Because you didn't get nominated and I did."

"You're kidding, right?" Faybelle wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You're only a candidate because you made Sally and Stacey, aka Goon Number One and Goon Number Two, say something during the assembly. Otherwise, your face wouldn't be plastered all over the school right now."

"Whatever, Faybelle. You're just jealous because I'm running for president and you can't," said Mitzi with a sickening giggle, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Oh, please. I'm in all AP classes this year, I'm taking up another foreign language, I'm already part of the student council and the National Honors Society, _and_ I'm leading the varsity cheer squad. I'm juggling all of those responsibilities, so I really don't have time to deal with some petty election," scoffed Faybelle, digging a tube of lip gloss out of her purse. "If I wanted to, I could win _easily_."

"Besides, you're not going to get elected anyway," yawned Ramona, obviously more interested in her long, sharp, red nails than the conversation. "You're going against Apple White and nobody wins against her. She's been wining these kinds of things since sixth grade."

"Apple is a strategist, said Faybelle matter-of-factly, applying more gloss to her shiny pink lips. "She actually puts thought into her campaign unlike you, who thinks handing out oversized pictures of herself is gonna cut it. Seriously, though. Do you know how much money you've wasted on these? That many large-sized, full-color posters can't be cheap."

"That hardly matters. I can easily afford it," boasted Mitzi, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder in a dramatic fashion. "and who cares about Apple anyway? She's just a bratty suck up who's only good at batting her eyelashes and getting on everyone's nerves."

"You basically just described yourself," chuckled Ramona, tipping back in her chair. "I'll admit Apple can be a pain in the ass, but not on purpose. And she isn't nearly as bad as you."

"Yeah. She's actually really nice," spoke up Raven, folding her arms across her chest and frowning at Mitzi. Part of her felt guilty for brushing Apple off earlier; Apple was only trying to be thoughtful, but Raven had only viewed her as a nuisance. She judged Apple way too quickly.

"Watch who you're talking to, new girl," warned Mitzi, shooting a glare at Raven.

Raven wasn't intimidated in the slightest. She wasn't going to back down. "If you don't like Apple, then why the heck did you sit with her at lunch yesterday with the rest of your friends? Why is she in your clique? Judging from your character, I'm pretty sure you're the kind of person who'll kick someone straight to the curb the second they displease you."

"That's usually how it goes, but you wanna know why it hasn't happened to Apple yet?" Faybelle turned to face Raven. "Because Mitzi _needs_ her. Mitzi insists Apple is a suck up, but it's really _her._ She's says all this crap about Apple behind her back, but never to her face. And wanna know why? Because everyone likes Apple. When you think about it, _she's_ the most popular. Mitzi only keeps her around because it makes her and her little gang look good, and gives them easy popularity. Instead of earning her own popularity, she only feeds on her friends' and uses her status as the principal's daughter to her advantage. She's _pathetic_."

Mitzi stood up from her seat, her lips twisted in a hateful sneer. Faybelle stood up as well, a smirk painting her face. "What's your problem?" asked Mitzi snottily, putting her hands on her hips. Oh boy. This was only Raven's second day here and she could already tell it was going to be a problem between these two.

"Mine? What's _yours?_ " countered Faybelle snappily, "oh, wait! I know! You're just _jealous._ Jealous that _I'm_ the team captain and not you. Jealous that _I'm_ actually good for something other than bullying and bitching."

At this point, every pair of eyes was on the two. Upon hearing the last part, Ramona sat upright, her eyes blazing with newfound interest in the brewing fight. "This is gonna be good," she smirked.

Mitzi gritted her teeth. "How _dare_ you! You don't know anything about me."

Faybelle snorted. "I know enough to know you're spoiled, annoying, conniving, and _ignorant._ You only use that head of yours when you're making plans to stab someone in the back or ruin their reputation. We all know what you did last year."

Raven didn't miss a beat. "Wait, what happened last year?" she asked instantly. Sometimes, being the New Girl really sucked. You were in the dark about just about everything.

"Mitzi got someone kicked out of school," explained Stella as Faybelle and Mitzi continued their glare-off. _"Again."_

"It was a known fact Mitzi and the chick were fighting," jumped in Ramona, rolling her eyes and yawning like it was old news. "One day, after the girl, Em, had enough and finally put Mitzi in her place—"

"Oh, please." It was Mitzi's turn to roll her eyes dramatically. "I had nothing to do with that. Everyone knew the rumors about what Emily was doing anyway."

"—a random half-full bottle of pills were found in her locker," went on Ramona, completely ignoring Mitzi. "And out of all days, it just happened to be the one when they brought in the dogs for one of those random drug searches. Mitzi might be a dumbass, but she's just as resourceful. Being the principal's daughter, it was easy for her to find out when the K9 unit was coming out and used that opportunity to frame Em. That would actually explain why none of _her_ friends got busted for possession yet; she knows when the police are coming to investigate, so she warns them ahead of time so they won't be stupid enough to bring any to school and get sniffed out."

"Great. Now I have _two_ know-it-alls on my case," announced Mitzi sarcastically.

"I'm just stating the facts, Four Eyes." Ramona leaned back in her chair even further and propped her feet up on her desk, the corner of her lip quirking up. "We all know you set her up. You planted those pills in her locker right before class; I know they weren't there before."

"And how would _you_ know? You can sniff out drugs all of a sudden? What, you're part wolf now?"

Cerise flinched and Ramona just gave another smirk. "You'd be surprised, Carmichael."

"And what you did to her was only the half of it," said Faybelle, "you've done way worse. Sure, I have my enemies too, but I have better things to do than waste my time on no-good _brats_ like you. And you're lucky you're the principal's daughter—otherwise, you would've been thrown out of this school last year during that situation with —"

"The police investigated it thoroughly," snapped Mitzi, "they said I—or _anyone didn't_ have anything to do with that. They even checked the fingerprints on the bottle, and guess what? They were covered in only one person's prints— _hers."_

"Uh, ever heard of _gloves_?" said Faybelle sarcastically, "they don't leave fingerprints behind and you'd be an ignorant swine—or should I say even _more_ of an ignorant swine to leave behind evidence."

Mitzi was about to say something else but was interrupted when the door swung open and in walked their teacher. Just like that, the argument was dropped and everyone went back to minding their own business.

As she sat back down in her seat, Mitzi gave Raven a hate glare. "Freak," she muttered.

Raven smirked. If only she knew.

 **~O~**

Raven was more than surprised when she received a note from Holly O'Hair in the middle of AP English Literature and Composition class:

 **OMG! Your shoes are so cute!  
-Holly ****ღ**

Wow. Holly's handwriting was really neat and pretty. Raven looked under her desk at the fashionable black suede platform heels her mother had let her borrow. They _were_ pretty cute. Raven quickly scribbled a quick note in return:

 _Thx! Yours r 2  
\- Raven_

She passed it over to Holly's desk. She did NOT expect the girl to write her another note in pink ink:

 **Thanks! So what's your secret?**

Raven froze. _Secret?_ What was she talking about? Wait…. _No._ There was _no_ way Holly knew about Raven's magic. Raven hadn't even used it in _weeks._ Raven told herself to calm down. There was no reason to jump to conclusions. Holly was _asking_ Raven about her secret, not saying she _knew_ about it. She had to be talking about something else. Seeing Holly was waiting, Raven wrote another note:

 _What secret?_

 **You know! Your** _ **beauty**_ **secret! Your face is so radiate! What foundation do you use?**

Raven calmed down completely. She had no reason to be anxious; Holly didn't know about her _real_ secret.

 _No foundation. That's just my skin._

 **WHAT? HOW? IT'S SCIENTIFICALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE'S SKIN TO BE THAT PERFECT.**

 _Ha. It's just genetics, I guess._

 _ **!**_

 _What about u? What's YOUR secret 2 all that hair? Srsly, it reaches your knees! You're like a real-life Rapunzel!_

 **Hehe, thanks. I'll take that as a compliment, though the real credit goes to a few Indian hair growth secrets and** _ **my**_ **genetics.**

 _Touché. What's it even like having that much hair?_

 **Eh, sometimes it's a blessing AND a curse. It's great showing off, but do you even have a clue of how long it takes me to do this single braid every day? Heaven forbid I have to style** _ **all**_ **my hair. That takes a few hours at least. And going to a salon is simply not an option; hairstylists hate me.**

 _Ha, I bet._

Raven expected the conversation to end there, but Holly passed her another note.

 **So what electives are you taking this year? They're giving us a broader selection this year; we didn't have anything good last year. Everyone was crammed in either digital art or yearbook. And ceramics was oddly popular…**

 _LOL. I'm rlly into music, so I'm in AP Music Theory. I took choir last year, so I'm trying something new this year: home economics._

 **Cool! I'm in graphic design and Introduction to Creative Writing. I actually bummed out about that. I should be in INTERMEDIATE Creative Writing; I scored the highest in writing last year. I wanted to take swimming, but it'd take FOREVER for me to get all this hair in a swim cap…**

 _Yeah, I know that would be a chore. Wait, aren't you a cheerleader? Doesn't your hair get in the way when you do the flips & stuff?_

For them to have passed along so many notes, no one seemed to notice. Their English teacher had her back turned to her students for at least ten minutes now and everyone else was either about to fall asleep in their chair or was taking unrelenting notes, like Apple White.

 **I have to pin it up in this HUGE bun. I really want to wear it in a high ponytail like everyone else, but that would be A LOT of hair whipping around my face. So what do you think you got on your writing sample from yesterday?**

 _No idea. IDK how I even got in this class; I'm not a good writer. Like, AT ALL._

 **Maybe you are. You listen to music a lot, right? Well, for some people, music is the key aspect to the writing process. It encourages focus and promotes inspiration.**

 _Maybe. But I didn't have anything to listen 2 when we wrote in class yesterday, remember? I just know I failed. It took me the whole class to write ONE paragraph._

 **So? That doesn't mean you failed; it means you just took your time. There's nothing wrong with that; I write fan fiction and it took me THREE HOURS to write ONE page. ONE!**

 _THREE? You have some patience—I'd give up on ANYTHING that—oh crap. Mrs. P's looking this way. TTYL!_

 **oOo**

Chemistry was officially Raven's LEAST favorite class.

This was only her second day and she was already lost; she didn't even know how she got put in an AP class to begin with! And it DIDN'T help that her lab partner happened to be her next-door neighbor, the Swan Girl, whose last name was coincidentally Swan. Duchess Swan. She was just as nasty as she had been that day of that whole confrontation with Icy over the swans.

Thankfully, Raven's other lab partner, Brandon, was the complete opposite. Sure, the brunette might've been a huge flirt, but he was actually pretty funny. Instead of paying attention to the lesson, they had decided to pass the time by passing notes, which was super easy since they were sitting side-by-side. The only one who seemed to notice (besides Duchess, since she sat on the other side of Raven) was Mitzi, who hadn't stopped glaring at them since class started. Not that Raven cared. It was a miracle the socialite hadn't ratted them out to their science teacher. But Raven was positive she wasn't going to miss a chance to next time. Again, Raven didn't care, most because she wasn't planning for there to be a "next time." She only goofed around with Brandon because today with just another introduction class; they hadn't missed anything important. But once they actually started learning things, Raven couldn't afford to miss a beat. Science was her absolute _weakest_ point; she was going to need every bit of knowledge she could get to pass the class, so note-taking would be out of the question in the future.

Besides, Duchess already warned both her and Brandon about messing around in class. She was hell-bent on acing the class and since they were a group and her grade technically depended on them, she threatened to make them miserable if they didn't start paying attention. She even gave them one last warning after class before they parted ways.

Now, Raven was on her way to the cafeteria to meet Dexter and Darling, the only part of the school day she was looking forward to. Of course, she ran into Apple halfway to the caf, but thankfully the blond had other things to do so she didn't stick around Raven long.

It didn't take Raven long to locate Darling and her brother in the cafeteria—it was easy to spot Darling's platinum blond hair over by the soda machines in the corner. She was with her brother, who startled when Raven sat down beside him.

"Raven!" he exclaimed, his face going completely red. "You came!"

Raven smiled. "Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?" She studied him closely. Dexter had that geek-chic thing going on with thick-framed glasses, sweater vest, jeans, and Vans.

"It's just, I didn't expect such a pretty girl like you to sit with someone like me," admitted Dexter, embarrassed. "Uh, not that I'm calling you pretty—you _are_ pretty but I didn't mean it like—"

"Dummy, of course she wants to sit with you. She offered to, didn't she?" Darling rolled her eyes at her brother. She looked at Raven. "Dexter usually sits with the computer club, so he's not used to being around _outsiders_."

Raven laugh. "You say it like it's a bad thing."

Darling laughed too. "The computer club is super tight. They always travel in a pack, so it's rare you see them with other people who don't speak programming. That's why Dexter's so socially awkward around non-members."

"I am not socially awkward," protested Dexter, his face going crimson. "I'm just…more comfortable around people in my clique." He sighed. "Sometimes I wish I was like Daring. He's confident around _everyone_ he meets."

"Daring? Who's that?" Raven raised an eyebrow.

Darling bobbed her head toward the central-most table. Raven's gaze immediately shifted over to where Mitzi, her groupies, Apple, and their other friends were sitting. Her eyes landed on a tall, handsome blond guy. Even from over here, Raven could make out his regal nose and chiseled jaw. He flanked on both sides by skimpily dressed girls, each one latched onto his arm.

"He's our brother," explained Darling, "you'd never know since we don't hang out with each other at school. Mainly because we don't like the company he keeps."

"Understandable," nodded Raven.

"I keep telling Dexter he doesn't have to be like Daring," went on Darling, "Daring might be a jock, but Dexter's _way_ smarter. He's the genius the family. He's in the robotics, chess, math, _and_ computer club." Dexter looked super embarrassed now.

"The math club, huh? You must be really good at it. I just started pre-calc and I already know I'm destined to fail," chuckled Raven.

"Um, I can tutor you sometimes if you want," offered Dexter quickly, adjusting his glasses awkwardly.

Raven's eyes widened. "I couldn't ask you to do that. It sounds like you already have enough on your plate with your own classes and all those clubs."

"No, it's fine," insisted Dexter, "I-I won't mind."

"He really won't. He's been looking for an opportunity to get closer to you anyway," said Darling casually.

Dexter looked panicked. "Darling! You make it sound like I'm some kind of creepy stalker. I-I just wanted to become friends with Raven, that's all." He must've forgotten Raven was sitting beside him because his ears flushed. "I didn't mean that in a creepy way either, it's just…you seemed so nice the first time we met. Usually people just ignore me…"

Raven held up a hand. "No, it's alright. You don't have to explain yourself. I know exactly how you feel. I didn't have friends at my old school so I was always lonely. It really sucked. I can totally relate and I'd love to be your friend."

"Th-thanks." Dexter looked down, giving a small and bashful smile. "Though I have to admit: this is the first time I've had a friend who's a girl besides my sister."

"And this is the first time I've been friends with a genius. There's a first time for everything, right?"

* * *

 **Roxy**

At lunch, Roxy made a course for Diaspro, who was seated by herself nearby the drama club signup booth. Her eyes were super-glued to her iPhone but when she saw Roxy approaching, she quickly put it away and put on a super friendly smile. "Hey, Roxy," she said cheerily, wiggling a few of her fingers in a wave.

"Hey." Roxy slid into the seat across from her. "So, there's actually something I've been meaning to ask you…"

"What's up?" Diaspro cocked her head curiously.

Roxy fidgeted. This was personal, but she had to know. "So you know how yesterday you told me you knew what it was like to have your heart broken? What did you mean exactly? Did you have a really bad breakup or something?" Diaspro's perfect face immediately went dark and Roxy immediately regretted asking the question. "Uh, never mind," she swallowed, "it's probably a really touchy subject." As intrigued as she was, she didn't mean to trigger her new friend.

"No, it's okay. I'm glad you asked, actually," said Diaspro, her voice low and icy cold as she forcefully ripped open a bag of chips, making them explode all over the table. Her eyes cut across the caf and Roxy followed her gaze, her eyes locking on the couple Diaspro was glaring at. The guy was blond and even from over here Roxy could make out his athletic shape. The girl, whom Roxy assumed to be his girlfriend, had carrot-red hair and a glowing smile. They were taking turns feeding each other. They looked happy and harmless.

"He's the one who betrayed me, you know," said Diaspro thinly, narrowing her eyes at the blond guy. "Sky Eraklyon. He _was_ myboyfriend once. But then _she_ came into the picture. Bloom."

"He left you for her?" asked Roxy softly.

Diaspro managed a nod, her eyes blazing. "For the longest, he went behind _my_ back and cheated on _me_ with _her_. When I found out, everyone just brushed it off and the two portrayed meto be the bad guy when theywere clearly in the wrong."

Roxy's throat tightened as she gulped down a bite of her sandwich. "That's…that's really _terrible._ And everyone just blamed you? That's so messed up." She took it back; those two were anything but harmless. They were over there acting like they didn't have a care in the world, knowing they'd broken Diaspro's heart in two.

"You don't have to tell me. Until this day, no one faults Sky even though hewas the one two-timer. And Bloom? Everybody just _loves_ her." Diaspro's lips were fixed in a nasty scowl.

Roxy glared at the couple. She couldn't believe this. Diaspro was so nice and sweet. Who would even think to go behind her back like that?

Diaspro sighed, her face softening. "It's alright, though. I'm over the both of them anyway." On the table, her phone started to ring. Diaspro snatched it before Roxy could see the caller ID. "I have to take this," she said apologetically, rising to her feet. "I'll see you after school, right?"

Roxy nodded. "Definitely." She watched as Diaspro threw her lunch away and disappeared out of the cafeteria. Poor girl. Roxy felt so sorry for her. No girl deserved to be cheated on. And then for everyone to point fingers at her anyway? That was so messed up. Didn't they care Diaspro was emotionally scarred because of them? Didn't Sky care that he'd basically split her heart right down the middle? Roxy pressed her lips together. She _detested_ people like them. They didn't care whose happiness they had to squish to obtain their own. They deserved a taste of their own medicine—maybe _tenfold…._

"Was that Diaspro just now?" asked a sudden, disgusted voice. Roxy's head snapped up to see a red-and-black haired girl sitting down across from her. She wore a pair of jeggings, a glittery black off-the-shoulder royal flush-themed top, and a pair of red heart-shaped earrings. Her wavy hair fell all around her face, complimenting her blood-red scowl.

"Yeah. This is her newest soon-to-be victim," smirked Kitty, sliding in beside Roxy. "I tried to warn her, but you know how they refuse to listen. That's how much D has her wrapped around her evil finger."

"For the last time, Kitty. Diaspro isn't who you say she is," insisted Roxy, frowning. "She told me what happened between her and her ex-boyfriend Sky, and I really don't think you should be looking at her like the enemy."

"She must didn't tell you the right story then," snorted Kitty. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be feeling sorry for her right now."

"Just leave her alone, guys. Maybe they are genuine friends," shrugged the third and final member of Kitty's posse, a short white-haired girl in a plain size-too-big sweater, jeans, and brown boots.

"Bunny, we both know Diaspro isn't a genuine _anything,"_ said Kitty with a dramatic eye roll, "besides a genuine _creep_. But enough about Diaspro. What did you guys think about the Menace's prank today? Horses was a _genius_ idea! Now the whole football field is covered in mounds of horse poop."

"What's' with your obsession with that person?" asked Roxy dully, "all of their pranks are just dumb. Not to mention letting horses roam free is extremely hazardous to them. This morning, I saw someone nearly _run over_ one of the them in the parking lot. It could've _died_ because of some moron's carelessness for their safety."

Kitty rolled her eyes again. ""Way to be dramatic, horse-licker. Ooh, that's what I'm gonna call you from now on! _Horse-licker_."

Roxy wrinkled her nose. "I don't lick horses, Kitty. I just appreciate animals and think that they should be treated with respect, because their lives matter too."

Kitty yawned. "Whatever, horse-licker. They're just dumb horses."

Roxy pressed her lips together. It really bothered her when people weren't considerate of animals and deemed them as something inferior, almost like objects. They were living creatures too. "They're _not_. Horses are just as alive as us. And it really sucks how the prankster doesn't see that. Our school's huge; all the activity could've scared one of the poor horses and led to some serious problems. It could've charged and hurt somebody or itself—"

"Enough about horses already!" shouted Lizzie, bringing a fist down on the table. The whole thing shook.

"Ignore Lizzie. She kinda has anger issues," clarified Kitty.

"I do not!" shouted Lizzie, pounding her fist on the table again.

While the two of them started bickering, Roxy noticed how Bunny was nervously nibbling on her carrot, her eyes drifting over to a tall blond not that far away. She was so focused on him she didn't seem to notice her arguing friends, or even hear them.

"You like him," teased Roxy.

Bunny startled in her seat. "Wha-what?"

"Oh yeah. That's Alistair. She's been in love with him since fifth grade," said Kitty matter-of-factly, bringing her argument with Lizzie to a temporary halt just to butt in.

Roxy's eyes widened. "Fifth grade? Are you seriously?"

Bunny bit her lip and gave a miserable nod. "He doesn't see me that way. I thought about confessing a few times but I'm too shy. I don't want him to reject me. And I always get this feeling there might be a girl he's interested in—a girl who's not me."

"There is. Roxy has a crush on Alistair too," announced Kitty.

"Really?" Bunny's eyes bugged out of her head, looking frightened as a rabbit.

"Liar," spat Roxy.

Kitty snickered. "That got everyone's attention, didn't it? I was just kidding. Roxy actually likes Manuel."

Bunny calmed down, dropping her shoulders in relief. "Good. You really scared me for a second. Wait. You like Manuel?"

Now it was Roxy's turn to look embarrassed. "Yeah."

"Good luck on that one. He likes someone else," stated Kitty casually.

Record scratch.

Roxy felt herself pale. "What?"

"No, he doesn't," said Bunny quickly, sending a sharp glare. "Ignore Kitty. She just likes ruining the mood."

"She's right. I do," said Kitty gleefully.

Roxy gave a weak nod. For her sake, she hoped Kitty was only joking, but a seed of doubt had already been planted in her heart. What if Manuel really _did_ have a crush on someone else?

 **OoO**

"Hey, aren't you that girl from the smooth bar in town?"

As Roxy slammed her locker shut she _swore_ her heart stopped when she heard Manuel's voice from behind. She slowly turned around to see the strawberry blond was standing right beside her. Right beside _her._ A few inches away.

She managed to open her mouth and utter a few words out, "Uh, yeah. I work there." She couldn't believe this. HER CRUSH WAS SPEAKING TO HER!

Manuel cracked a grin. "Cool." He was about to say more, but stopped short when a beautiful fair-skinned girl sauntered by. She had a superior, lavender-scented air about her that caught Manuel's full attention. "Uh, I gotta go," he said half-heartedly, his eyes glued to Rachel as she advanced down the hallway. "I'll see you around." Roxy just stood there, frozen as he chased and caught up with Rachel at the end of the corridor. She watched as they disappeared around the corner. _What just happened?_

Someone sighed beside her. "I feared this would happen sooner or later."

Roxy's mouth went dry and turned to face Diaspro, who'd just appeared out of thin air. "Wh-what?"

"It was only a matter of time before Rachel got to him."

"So that's what her name is?" asked Roxy sadly. So Kitty had been telling the truth. Manuel really _was_ into somebody else.

"Wait. So you mean you _don't_ know who Rachel Radcliffe is?" Diaspro was dumbfounded. Roxy shook her head miserably. " _Seriously?_ And you've been going to this school for three years now?"

"I've never been one for gossip."

Diaspro snorted. "Obviously. Anyway, Rachel Radcliffe has a rather… _dirty_ reputation around here. All the boys love her and she uses that to her advantage. She's had many _—many_ guys fall under her spell—I even heard she's seen a few college guys here and there. But the thing is, she's a slut and every girlfriend's worst nightmare."

Roxy wanted to cry. "And Manuel is about to become her next victim. Doesn't he know who she is?"

"Yeah, but you know how guys are. They don't care. Once they're hooked, they're hooked."

"Oh, Diaspro. What am I going to do?" cried out Roxy, biting her lip. "I can't compete against someone like Rachel!"

Diaspro stayed calm. "You don't have anything to worry about. _Yet._ Maybe she'll completely overlook Manuel."

Roxy stared at her in disbelief. There was no way ANYONE could simply "overlook" Manuel. He was everything a girl could ever want; handsome, tall, dreamy, kind. He had the full package. He _was_ the full package."

"Okay, so maybe she _might_ go after him," admitted Diaspro, "for her, any attractive guy will do."

Roxy bit her lip to stop herself from bursting into tears. It might've sounded dramatic, but she _loved_ Manuel. In fact, she was _terribly_ in love with him. She'd never felt this way about a boy before, and it was completely overwhelming. All she wanted was for him to return her affections—or at _least_ give her _some_ form of attention. But it looked like _Rachel_ was getting it all.

"I haven't noticed this before, but Rachel and Bloom wear their hair the same way," said Diaspro, her voice full of disgust at the mention of her ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend. Now that Roxy thought about it, Rachel and Bloom _did_ have the same hairstyle; they both wore their hair down with the bangs styled around their face. "I guess all boyfriend-stealers have the same look, huh?"

Roxy glanced at her firmly. "Manuel isn't her boyfriend."

"You're right. He isn't her boyfriend. _Yet._ If you don't act fast, Rachel was make a move on him and all your hopes will be flushed straight down the drain. But don't worry about that; she won't be a problem if you won't let her be."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I learned something from my past relationship: good girls always finish last. If you want to keep Rachel out of the picture, you need to push her out of it yourself."

"B-but how?"

Diaspro smiled faintly. "Don't worry. Leave that to me."


End file.
